


Dear future husband

by Linaloe



Series: Tempting the dragon, luring the cowboy [5]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Flirting, Forgiveness, Friends to Lovers, Genji Shimada is a Little Shit, Hanzo needs to heal, Light Angst, M/M, Magical Tattoos, Masturbation, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Protective Siblings, Sassy Hanzo, Self-Esteem Issues, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Teasing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-04-14 01:23:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 49,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14125086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linaloe/pseuds/Linaloe
Summary: We all know how they ended: married. But how did they start?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, here we are! Let's see how these two idiots fell in love, shall we?
> 
> As always, it's not beta-read, and I'm not a native speaker, so any mistake is my own. If you see any flagrant offense to the english language, or something that should be tagged but I forgot to tag, please let me know and I'll fix it :)
> 
> Tagged as Explicit for later chapters. Because I don't think these two could keep their hands out of each other for too long (or, we will see how long it actually takes!)

The morning sun found Hanzo in the same place than the past days, sitting behind the radar array outside the Gibraltar base, legs crossed and sight lost in the horizon, meditating. The long sleeves of his _kyudo-gi_ waving softly against his forearms with the early breeze, the hair of his ponytail caressing his nape.

He was not alone today though. Genji had followed him when he opened the door to go outside, sitting besides him quietly, soon losing himself in his own meditation. He had explained him he spent a few years in a monastery in Nepal, where he knew an omnic monk, Zenyatta, who helped him find peace and the pleasure of contemplation. He had said little more, but his words settled heavy on his heart when he understood it was about being half a cyborg now what had troubled him and sent him to look for help. Genji reassured him several times he was happy now, especially if he could use his abilities for some good.

Breathing evenly, he considered what he had learned since he had arrived at Gibraltar two weeks ago. According to Winston, the scientist gorilla in charge of the Intel side of the organization, an old known terrorist organization of Overwatch, Talon, was growing bigger and more dangerous than before, having attacked important companies to steal intel and weapons, getting braver and reckless with each time, to the point of them attacking their base trying to steal a protected list with information about their former agents. Hence the recall. A few agents remained scattered around the world collecting information for Winston and Athena, the AI that worked with him, but others had answered and joined him in Gibraltar.

It had been weird, sleeping in a safe place after all the years running away. He was so used to live, and sleep, with his senses in permanent alert in case someone found his hideouts to attack him that being able to have his own room without that worry was strange. The first nights had been an endless tossing in his bed, learning to identify the sounds of his surroundings, the soft humming of the ventilation, the further beepings from Athena when checking her systems, walking silently around the base when he didn’t manage to fall asleep. He had learned the hidden paths and corners, where had Athena her sensors and cameras, talked quietly with her when he had moved crates and cleaned around to distract himself, to tire his mind and body to get rest when he returned to his room.

Living with all these new, loud people was something he was not used to either, so he made himself almost invisible to everyone, going silently around the edges, testing them, learning their habits and patterns. They were a weird mix of people indeed.

There was doctor Angela Ziegler, the scientist in charge of the med bay and medical research of the base, a small, blonde woman with a soft smile in her face and an obsession with chocolates, if the impressive hidden stash she had in one of her cabinets showed it.

He had seen it when she ran tests on him to check his well being and give him a phone and a comm with the permits needed to contact the rest of the team and access Athena’s database, and she had closed the ajar door with a nervous chuckle and a blush covering her cheeks. Genji had explained him it was her who saved his life, that she spent hours in the OR, putting all her efforts and all the techniques she knew to keep him alive. The result was a cybernetic arm, a synthetic lung and a nervous system interweaved with his own, and a few metal reinforcements on his spine, ribs and hip bones. He had thanked her for saving his brother’s life, and told her he could never repair such gift.

There was Torbjörn as well, the Swedish engineer that swore like a sailor that was taking care of fixing the destruction the Talon team left behind when they attacked, fine-tuning the installations and the training room so they could use them. And Lena, also known as Tracer, was the agent that had tried to stop the assassination of the peaceful omnic in King’s Row in London, and helped Winston to stop Talon from stealing the powerful and dangerous Doomfist, which he saw in the news back in Japan before he took his brother’s offer and join him.

Something good came out of that public confrontation. The world was aware now of the danger Talon represented, and many people around the globe was demanding the United Nations to allow Overwatch to operate again. That was something that hadn’t happened yet, the PETRAS Act that made Overwatch illegal still active, so they remained quiet in the meantime, fixing the installations and trying not to get involved in any trouble.

So, since he had arrived, he meditated early in the mornings before facing a new day with his new partners, avoiding them all as much as he could even though he maintained small talk when they ate together not to seem rude, and exercised alone at night, outside since the training rooms were still under maintenance.  And, for the first time in years, he covered his tattooed arm every time, out of shame.  


Glancing at his brother sitting comfortably at his side, with the t-shirt that showed his metallic arm and the connections in his neck, he remembered, again, their meeting in Hanamura a month ago, where he had gone to pray and present his respects to him like every year, only to be attacked by an unknown, well trained ninja. The shock of seeing his dragon coming to assist him after being ignored all those years still affected him, the blurry blue form he managed to invoke going through his attacker without hurting him, mingling for a second, before disappearing in the air, with the well defined green dragon the ninja had summoned, helping him to recognize that he was, in fact, his very own brother. The dragons reunited again. Three, instead of two like they used to be.

Shifting in his place, guilt filled his chest, the slight burn of his two dragons moving under his skin surprising him again. He wasn’t used to feel them anymore; they had stayed immobiles and silent since he had killed his brother, a permanent remain on his skin of what he had done. It was only one at the beginning, the powerful spirit dragon engraved on his skin after an archaic ritual when he accepted him as his bearer, his brother smiling proud at his side when the green spirit accepted him. The dragons reunited together for the first time in many years in their family.

It hadn’t been until he run away, gathering few of his belongings and abandoning Hanamura, stopping to spend the night in a cheap, far away from home hotel that he noticed something had changed on his dragon. He stood astonished in the crappy bathroom, the light flickering over his head but allowing him to check his reflection in the small mirror. There were two now. Still twisted around his arm, dancing together over his skin, but two. Thinking, he remembered feeling, while fighting against his brother, a shocking pain running down his arm, but he had assumed he just got hurt. Perhaps that was the moment the spirit broke in two, the shiny and vibrant tattoo now looking dull. Dead. Like he felt inside after what he did. Like his brother, back in Hanamura.

The brother that, by a heavens miracle, had returned to his life. Opening his eyes again, he observed Genji, calm as he never was in their younger years while meditating. And alive, with his dragon still full and connected to him, even if he had lost his right arm, the metallic replacement shining under the morning sun. Because of me, Hanzo reminded himself, his dragons shifting, protesting against his thoughts. He was afraid of the day they’d train together again, because Genji knew as well as himself that he preferred using his bow the traditional way, wearing the left sleeve of his _kyudo-gi_ off, the one that had been covering his broken tattoo. He almost jumped surprised when his brother spoke to him.

“I’d have never imagined I’d stay put longer than you, Hanzo. You are quite fidgety today.” he looked at him, worried. “Do you prefer meditating alone? I didn’t want to impose, I just thought,” he interrupted himself, as if he looked for the right words.

“No, it is not that,” Hanzo said, almost eagerly. “I am glad you joined me, and even more to see you mastered the art of meditating,” he said in a light tone. “I was… ruminating my thoughts. I am still not sure you are real and not a dream I will lose as soon as I am awakened,” he confessed, the look on his brother immediately softening.

“I’d pinch you to prove you are not dreaming,” he joked, a soft smile appearing in his face.

“I would rather not, thanks.” Hearing his brother chuckle was something he thought could never do again, and it was like water moistening the dry soil his soul was.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling hungry already. Do you want to come with me to the mess hall and have breakfast? Or are you going to hide into your room and wait until no one is around?” Genji asked, disentangling his legs and getting up, stretching his back with a loud yawn.

“I do not hide in my room,” Hanzo grunted, following him and descending the stairs behind the radar.

“Yeah, you do,” his brother replied casually, putting his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants and walking relaxed towards the Research area. “Look, I get it, you were reserved even when you were younger. And maybe after all this time on your own you became a hermit. I’m just saying, you could try and talk to them. They don’t bite,” he said looking at him, expectant. “Well, perhaps McCree, but I have seen you already ignore him, so, props to you on that,” he smirked.

“Hm.” There was someone else he had met, the mere thought making his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. Jesse McCree, former Blackwatch agent, actual bounty hunter, someone Genji was fond of and considered a good friend, the reason completely out of his understanding. The man liked to smoke and drink, to talk and laugh aloud, and flirt and joke with everyone that walked close to him, no matter who it was.

His patience was put to test every day when they both, unavoidably, crossed their paths. The cowboy had tried to establish conversation, if “flirt tirelessly” was considered a conversation, with him since the beginning. It had shocked him at first being treated that way, but when no one reacted to it he had assumed it was his usual behavior and they were used to his manners. He was confident on his body, the constant exercise he practiced keeping him strong, with well-defined muscles. He knew he resulted attractive to people, and a few times in his past he had taken advance of it, but after all the years he had spent alone and secluded getting that constant attention all of a sudden was something he didn’t know how to deal with. So he just ended ignoring him, the only way he found to make him shut up was glaring at him with a heavy frown in his face, which granted every time a chuckle and an “alright, alright” before the cowboy stopped talking and left him alone.

“Wait, stop,” Genji grabbed him by the shoulder, lowering his brows and looking at him seriously. “He hadn’t said anything to you, right? He has a big mouth and sometimes doesn’t know when to shut up, but he is not malicious.”

“No, do not worry,” he said, not wanting to importunate with his thoughts.

“Hanzo.”

“He just… flirts,” he shrugged, hoping he hadn’t sound as silly as he thought he was.

“Yes, he does that. But if it bothers you, I can talk to him,” Genji offered sincerely.

Hanzo looked up at his little brother, not knowing what to say. He was trying so hard to make his stance within his partners the more comfortable possible, like he really wanted him at his side, that his heart skipped a beat in his chest.

“No, I think I can deal with him,” he nodded, a soft smile appearing in his face.

“You know, something I learned when I met him is, the longer you ignore him, the harder he tries to get a reaction from you,” he said. “And I don’t mean choking him with “those nice arms of yours”,” he added, chuckling when his brother groaned. “Yeah, I heard the other day. He won’t stop pinching and probing you, so, you can always pay him with his own medicine.”

“You want me to flirt with him?” Hanzo raised his eyebrows, surprised.

“Well, that’s up to you. But maybe, not scowl as you usually do,” he suggested, shrugging. “I don’t know, you could entertain yourself flirting back. Or answering. Or sassing the crap out of him, I know what you are capable of, Hanzo, I remember how father used to get mad at you and that big mouth of yours. Just, relax, and have fun. Or you can choke him, so I don’t have to hear him again admiring my older brother,” he said, pushing him lightly and laughing when Hanzo punched him back in his shoulder.

“I will consider your suggestions,” he said not very sure yet, but glad of having talked with his brother. Perhaps he could have some fun indeed, he thought, following Genji through the door and up the stairs of the Research area, towards the mess hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how long this 5th part will be, but I wanted to reflect how Hanzo evolves from the dark place he was after spending so many years mourning his brother and living on the run, to reconect with his brother, and falling in love with Jesse.
> 
> I have read and researched as much as possible, but since I couldn't find any explanation to why he as a single dragon tattooed but summons two, I came with my own headcanon. Do not worry, it will be fixed at the end, I believe from the heart in happy endings <3
> 
> Though I plan to make my boys suffer a bit, they will pin and angst for the other for a while, but since we all know they are married now, we don't have to worry :P


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relax, have fun.
> 
> Or the moment everything started, but neither of them knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Jesse finally appears! (and I fail at humor because I'm not funny)
> 
> As always, if you see any mistake please let me know! :)

Stretching his arms above his head, Jesse yawned in his bed, looking up at the empty ceiling and massaging lazily his left arm, thinking that he should visit Angela to take a look on his prosthetic for a tune-up. He smiled to himself when he realized, again, that he was back, that Overwatch was back. Being a bounty hunter had been fun, even when he had to be careful not to get caught by his old gang or the hunters that tracked him down from time to time, the juicy, increasingly reward the bastards offered a nice incentive.

The incident with the hypertrain in Houston had put him in the spotlight, forcing him to stay hidden and in the run for a while, until the public forces had stated officially that he was not considered responsible of it, thanks to the witnesses travelling in the train, but they could appreciate if he showed up to testify on his own. Not that he had planned doing it, the Deadlock Gang tracking him with renewed forces, knowing where to find him thanks to the news. He was running from them through the east coast when he received Winston’s call in his old Overwatch comm, something he had kept as a memento from older, better times and that had, he was sure, saved his life again. Buying a ticket for the first plane he had found, he travelled to Spain leaving the gang back, finding Winston and Tracer waiting for him in the old base.

Yawning again he finally got up, going to take a shower in his small bathroom, finding the sink as he had left it the night before, covered with the hairs he had cut off his beard and his head. Sighing, he cleaned everything throwing it into the bin, looking himself in the mirror and checking his artwork. His beard had been easy to fix with the electric razor, though still looking messy, the way he liked it. His hair was definitely disheveled, but at least it was shorter than before. He didn’t care it was not even, he cared it was not in his face anymore. And if he had gotten the idea to take care of his hair from a comment Hanzo had said the past day it was only his business, he thought, taking a quick shower and dressing fast after that, his stomach growling demanding breakfast.

He hadn’t expected to like Genji’s brother as much as he did after what he did to his friend, but dang, wasn’t it funny to mess with him. The deep frowns he threw at him whenever he flirted or complimented him was the little joys he sought the most since he had met the guy. Mostly because he was bored thanks to the lack of work to do, at least related to missions, because the base needed to be reorganized but he always managed to be out when lifting and moving crates was the task of the day. And what the hell, the man was a gorgeous sight to admire, a strong, built body recognizable even under the loose clothes he liked to use, nice dark chocolate eyes he would love to get lost in. So what if he liked to drag his eyes all over him whenever he had the chance? He liked to watch nice things, he was not made of stone.

Securing his favourite belt, polished the night before so the “BAMF” was now gleaming, he grabbed his hat before leaving his room, the spurs of his boots resonating in the empty corridor where he encountered Lena going towards the mess hall. “Mornin’,” he winked, tipping his hat.

“Well aren’t ya looking fancy, love?” she said, checking him with a raised eyebrow.

“What? A man can’t take care of himself now?”

“Of course you can!” she said, grabbing his face with her hands. “Come here, let me see… yes, you look fantastic. Hair is uneven, but looking good,” she said with a boop in his nose, releasing him giggling and walking at his side. “What’s the occasion, though? Any reason for pampering yourself?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows at him and making him chuckle.

“Nah, it was just time, y’know?” he shrugged. If he had cut his hair for a reason other than because it was too long he was not about to tell it. “Hey, how’s Emily doin’?” he asked, changing the matter.

“Ah, she’s worried, with the UN knowing we are back and deciding what to do with us, but she is fine! I’m planning to go back home as soon as I can,” she chatted, walking towards the mess hall where the others were already.

Jesse let her go inside first, a wolfish grin spreading on his face when, to his surprise, he saw Hanzo and Genji inside, the youngest pushing eagerly his brother to make him sit close to Angela, who was looking at them with a hidden smile behind her cup of coffee.

“Here, take a sit, I’ll go grab a drink for you,” Genji said bouncing on his feet, going to the countertop.

“You know, I was reticent when he said you were coming,” Hanzo raised an inquisitive eyebrow looking at Angela, who only smiled wider. “I know what happened between you two. But looking at him… he hadn’t been that happy and bouncy in a while. I think not even before Overwatch was closed. So having you around makes that,” she said reassuringly when he brought together his eyebrows and glanced at his brother, who was chatting amicably with Lena while preparing the breakfast.

He didn’t have time to reply, when Jesse sat in front of him with a wink. “Well, aren’t you a nice view in the mornin’? You too of course, Angela,” he said, grinning at the doctor. “I think I’ll pay a visit later, if you don’t mind,” he said, waving his prosthetic at her and ignoring the frown Hanzo was throwing at him.

“Oh, hey, I didn’t see you, McCree,” Genji said sitting besides his brother, placing a cup in front of him and drinking from his own, the cowboy tipping his hat in his direction. “What the hell happened to your face?”

“Nothing, I have always been this pretty,” the cowboy said with a think, making Genji huff.

Hanzo, looking at the gunslinger and noticing his hair and beard were shorter, grabbed the cup his brother offered, smelling it when he saw it was not coffee. Taking a sip, he looked at his brother surprised. “It’s my tea.”   
  
“Yeah, I went yesterday to buy some groceries and found a place that sold it,” he said, shrugging but looking pleased.

Hanzo was speechless for a second, seeing Angela smile at him encouragely. “Thank you,” he murmured, his dragons moving pleased under his skin, but feeling exposed under the cowboy’s attentive eyes.  _ Relax, have fun _ . Well, he’d appreciate a better advice, because he definitely did not felt relaxed with those whiskey coloured eyes stuck on him.

He was considering how to “have fun” when Winston entered the room. “Good, you all are here. Plans for today, keep checking boxes and putting them in their place.” He rolled his eyes when Jesse groaned. “I don’t know why you are the one protesting, McCree, when you have done nothing the last days. What, you thought I didn’t notice?” he said when the mentioned opened his mouth in mocking surprise.

“Well, my boxes are always done, right?” he protested, although who was the one doing his part of the job was still a mystery. Not that he had something against it.

“Yeah, but that’s because Hanzo does it at night,” Winton said with a reprimand tone.

Hanzo did not choke while drinking his tea. Placing his cup down in the table, he ignored the surprised look Jesse had while looking at him, and glared at the corner where Athena had her screen and camera.

“It was not me, I said nothing,” she chirped. “I enjoy our nightly talks, Hanzo, but everything I record is available to check on my servers. Winston review them periodically.”

“You have been doin’ my chores?” 

“No,” Hanzo stated, raising an eyebrow. “I have been cooperating to clean and organize the base.”

“No more cooperating then. And no more sneaking out, McCree.” Winston said, before turning around to go back to his office. “I assigned each one of you a task, stick to it.”

“Ah, Winston, there is something I’d like to talk with you,” Angela said, getting up fast and following him, leaving the rest alone in the room.

Genji took the opportunity and the awkward silence to get up and get the rest of the breakfast, placing it between his brother and him.

Lena, sitting besides Jesse, just chuckled. “Well, you are busted, love. No more laze around for you.”

“Yeah… y’know,” he said, smirking at Hanzo, “If ya wanted someone to talk at night ya could have come lookin’ for me. I bet my conversation is more interestin’,” he finished with a wink.

Hanzo, as usual, frowned, feeling the soft kick his brother gave him under the table.  _ Have fun _ . Alright, he could try. Putting his best, expressionless face, he stated, “No.”

“No, what?”

“Your conversation is not more interesting. In fact, until now I have not had a conversation with you, at all,” he said calmly, drinking his tea.

“Whaddaya mean? Of course we have talked,” Jesse looked confused at Genji, who was covering his face with his hand.

“No. You flirt, and I ignore you. That’s not a conversation.”

Lena giggled at that.

“I… alright. How about we have conversations from now on?” Jesse asked, putting his best husky voice.

“No. I am not interested.” 

“Rude.” Jesse hadn’t expected this exchange at all and was completely lost, not knowing if Hanzo was being serious, or mocking him. Genji found the situation pretty hilarious apparently, if his shaking shoulders were indicative of something.

“Your personality is simple, with an intense scantiness in every area that is even remotely considered interesting to me. So no, I’m not eager at all to talk to you.” Hanzo was putting all his efforts not to bark the laugh that had been forming in his chest the whole time, with Jesse’s face reddening and contorting with the different emotions he was experimenting.

“Oh my god, you were right, he broke him,” Lena whispered at their side, dragging their attention.

“Yeah, that’s my brother,” Genji said proudly between chuckles, palming at Hanzo’s shoulder. He pointed his finger at Lena, “Which means, you owe me.”

Astonished, Jesse saw Lena giving some chips to Genji, his brother frowning confused at them. Having his pride wounded he tried to amend the situation, pointing a finger at Hanzo and only earning a slow blink. “Just so y’know, I’m actually a complicated man, Hanzo. I have layers. Like an onion.”

“Hm,” Hanzo glanced briefly at his brother, who was snickering openly now, before a sly smile appeared on his face. “Do you stink and make people cry?”

The joke was so unexpected that Jesse couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his throat, relief washing over him. “Dear lord, that means… you saw that movie!” he exclaims, satisfied.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, cowboy,” said the archer, grabbing something to eat from the plate at his side but looking pleased.

“Nah, nah, nah. Except I picture you more as the ogre, rather than the donkey,” Jesse chuckled.

Hanzo looked at him silently for a second before raising an eyebrow. “That makes you the donkey,” Genji and Lena laughed harder.

“I… dang. Touché, sweetheart,” he recognized, chuckling, leaning back in his seat to look at him from under the rim of his hat. “Although I don’t much like losin’,” he added, putting enough promise in his words.

“Hm. The outcome was never in doubt,” said Hanzo amused, thinking Genji had been right, it was fun replying to the cowboy.

“Well, I never expected you could do more than frown at me, darlin’,” Jesse said, pleasantly surprised.

“You made an error in judgement.” Looking calmly at him, he added, “Which confirms my previous statement: you are simple.”   
  
“Aw, no.”

“Aw, yes.”

That infant reply was something Jesse would have never associated with the serious, always frowning man in front of him, making him laugh amazed. Before he replied a scratching sound coming from the speakers made them cover their pained ears.

“If ya fellas have finished minglin’ an’ chatin’, maybe you’d consider goin’ to work. Like me. A responsible person. You assholes,” Torbjörn yelled at them, before cutting the communication.

“I think that’s our call,” Genji said, flushed from the laughing, Lena agreeing and jumping in the air, waving a hand at them before disappearing through the door.

Following his brother, Hanzo nodded a goodbye at Jesse with a self-confident smirk in his lips,  the cowboy tipping his hat, surprised.

_ Luddy Mussy, what had happened _ , he thought watching Hanzo walk away, admiring the way his back moved under his jacket, still astonished at the way he had talked back instead of only frowning. And he hopped it was not the last time he did, because dang if he had enjoyed his wittiness. 

Grabbing the abandoned cups to put them in the sink, he decided to go to help good ol’ Torb with whatever he was doing. Maybe that way the training room could be operative sooner rather than later, his gun was getting rusty with the lack of action.

  
  


Walking through the corridor that led to the comm tower Hanzo grabbed his brother’s arm, shaking him a little. “Now brother, explain the money.”   
  
Laughing again, happily, Genji complied.  
  
  


* * *

 

It took them most of the day -- Jesse sending a message to the doctor saying he could not visit her until the next day --  lots of curses and a hella lot more of clunks, bangs and metal smashes, but the training room was finally ready, with the dummies on their places, the armory full and waiting to be used, and Athena’s terminal operative in it’s corner. 

Smiling tired but proud of his work, the cowboy said his goodbye to Torbjörn, deciding that grabbing something to eat on his way to the shower that waited for him on his room was the best plan if he didn’t want to fall asleep in the mess hall. Leaving the hangar he stopped for a moment, pondering, before calling the AI, her camera blinking in the corner watching the door.

“Hey Athena, do you have Hanzo’s number?”

“Yes, I do,” she answered through the speakers.

“Well, may I have it, please?” he asked with a big smile.

“No,” she replied, sounding amused.

“Aw, why not?” he protested, pouting. “Ain’t gonna do anything bad with it, just wanted to tell the crew the training room is ready so we can use it tomorrow, y’know? And I’d need it anyway because, imagine we go on a mission and I don’t have his number? And one of us gets booger’d up? “Ah, yeah, y’know those Overwatch agents? They couldn’t get help ‘cause they didn’t have each other’s number!” That’d look terrific all over the news, yeh,” he said, waving his arms around with a lopsided grin.

After a few seconds of silence, Athena chirped. “Are you done yet? You have the number already. Please restrain of telling any more of your tales.”

“Thanks, sweetheart. You are the best,” he said grinning, typing on his device to check the inbox. “Though I might have a talk with Winston, it seems yer learning too much sarcasm for our own good.”

“Thanks. I have an awesome example,” she replied, before cutting the communication.

_ Example? _ No one around was that sarcastic, unless… had she been learning that talking with Hanzo? 

Sauntering to the exterior, he typed, deleted, and started again a message, not sure what to write. Why was he suddenly nervous just to send a text was something that escaped him. Clicking his tongue at himself, he managed to compose something short and straight.

_ “Howdy partner. Group meeting tomorrow at 9am, in the training room. Don’t be late.” _

He considered it for a second before he sent a new one to clarify he was the sender, since he was sure Hanzo had none besides his brother’s number. _  
_ _ “This is McCree btw.” _

He didn’t have time to put his phone on his pocket when it chirped.

_ “I never would have figured that out on my own.” _

Jesse stood there for a second, rereading the short message like expecting to find something new within its sparse words before a snicker escaped his lips. Yup, Athena was learning from Hanzo. He wasn’t sure he could survive that level of sassiness, but he definitely wanted to try it, he thought, restarting his walk towards his destination while sending a group message to the rest of the team.

  
  
  


Sitting in his bed, Hanzo put down his phone, nervousness and distress churning his guts. Rubbing his left arm to calm the electric shiver running under his skin he sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do but accept that the day his brother could see what had happened to his dragon had arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... oops?
> 
> Yes, that was a Shrek reference between Jesse and Hanzo :P


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The moment Hanzo feared most finally arrived. Will he be able to trust his brother and forgive himself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware, my shitty sense of humor wasn't working when I wrote this, so the jokes are lame and not funny :(
> 
> This was not beta-read, but I used two different editors to check grammar and style mistakes, and I'm pretty happy with the result! If you still find any error, or something that should be tagged but it's not, please let me know :D

Grunting to himself while massaging his left arm again, Jesse decided he could not postpone anymore the visit to the med bay, still pondering if doing it first in the morning and therefore missing the training meeting, or after it. He had woken up early today, excited to put his skills to use, even if it was with the training dummies. And perhaps he was eager to see a certain archer in action after all the praises his brother had sung about him.

He found the common kitchen empty but for the person he was thinking about, who was sitting quietly, drinking from his cup and looking kinda gloomy. Smiling to himself, he slumped himself at his side. “Howdy!” he saluted obnoxiously, grinning when the archer jumped in his place, surprised. When Hanzo just nodded at him and returned his eyes to the space in front of him, he decided to pry a bit, “What’s your poison?”

Glancing again at the cowboy, Hanzo looked at him confused, not understanding what kind of question was that. He had spent almost the whole night awake, tiredness numbing his mind now, the first idea that passed his mind was that he probably referred to his weapon. “I don’t use poison,” he said, talking slowly. “My aim is perfect, insta-kill is what you call it, I think,” he explained, still not getting the sudden reference to poisons.

“I… no, I mean,” Jesse bit his lip, considering for a second a sarcastic answer but deciding against it. The previous day had left a nice open between them to mess it up again, and considering Hanzo was not used to his slang, he was not about to mock him. Yet. “I mean, whatcha drinking. Poison, liquor, alcohol?” He almost patted himself when Hanzo widened his eyes for a second at the explanation, looking down at his cup to check it, as if he had forgotten.

“Oh. My apologies. It’s just tea, the one my brother got for me,” he said, glancing at him, feeling his brain going slower than usual. “Is not too early to consider an alcoholic drink?”

“Not in some part of the world, no,” the cowboy joked, getting up to get himself a cup of coffee. “You didn’t spend another night moving boxes around, didn’t ya?” he said, noticing the dark circles under the archer’s eyes and the slumber position he had.

“No,” he mumbled, his reasons only concerned him, he thought.  He served himself another cup of tea hoping to brighten up, his stomach too tight to even consider eating something.

“Then… are you nervous? Huh ho, you fear I’d leave you looed. Beat you in the training room,” he clarified when Hanzo arched an eyebrow.

“Pff. No. I could defeat you with my eyes closed, gunslinger. I’m tired, not dead,” he stated confidently.

“Ha, sure,” Jesse insisted, watching how the archer was more responsive when being probed.  _ Better looking angry than sad, darlin’ _ , he thought, grinning when Hanzo frowned at him.

“Is that a challenge?” he asked.

“You bet, sweetheart.” Well, he was postponing his visit to the med bay after the training session.

Hanzo opened his mouth to tell he was not worried about such a simple task when his phone chirped. Opening it, he found a message from his brother, asking him to go to his room if he had time.

“I will be careful to leave some of your pride intact, cowboy,” he said, getting up to go to check on Genji before they could go to the training room, Jesse’s chuckles following him through the door.

  
  
  


Hanzo lingered outside his brother’s room, breathing deep trying to calm down. He could feel his heartbeats in his ears, the dragons vibrating under the  _ kyudo-gi _ matching his nervousness. With a rapid knock on the door, he heard his brother inviting him to enter.

He looked around the clean room, almost identical to his,  and followed the noise coming from the bathroom.

“Genji, you were asking for… oh,” Hanzo stopped talking when he saw his brother half naked, only his pajama pants on, and a pot of an ointment of some sort in his hand. “I’m sorry, I can come back later,” he said in a hurry, trying not to linger in his brother’s scarred body.

“Nah, don’t worry, come on in,” Genji said unworried, going back to coat his fingers with the cream and rubbing it at the edge where his skin joined the metal parts. Hanzo saw him moving his lips saying something, but the quickened beat of his heart muffled it, the sight of the metal and tubes leaving him frozen in place.

Hanzo could not take his eyes off, pain and regret weighing heavy in his stomach, watching his brother taking care of his broken body with dedication. A body that if it had not been for him, could not look like that.

“May I help you with that?” he whispered, not sure if it was for Genji or an act of redemption for himself. “On your back, that must be a hard place to reach,” he murmured, unsure of how to act.

Genji froze, surprised, observing his brother and the mixture of feelings that ran through his face, his body tense and hunched, his eyes widened and filled with sorrow. Without saying a word, he extended his hand, giving his brother the cream. He saw him grabbing it cautiously, like if he expected him to reject his offer, turning around so Hanzo could spread the ointment on his back, squeezing his eyes to tamper his own pain at the sight of the turmoil that filled his brother.

Dipping his fingers in the cream, Hanzo rubbed his fingers to warm it before touching his brother skin, trembling with the feelings that overwhelmed his heart. Careful, he extended the ointment from his right shoulder down to his spine, sadness and self-condemnation flooding and drowning him, the tears that he had kept at bay all these years, the ones he didn’t allow himself to cry when he realized he had killed his brother, spilling free down his cheeks without his consent. Muffing a sob, he let his head fall, pressing his forehead against his brother’s neck.

“ _ Hontouni gomenasai _ ,” he whispered with a broken voice, convinced there was no forgiveness for what he had done, the dragons rumbling words of mourn in his ear.

Genji just turned around and hugged him tightly, murmuring reassuring words in their mother tongue, holding him through the shivers that tensed his body. Hanzo hugged him stronger, even though he thought he didn’t deserve the gesture, feeling his brother’s body between his arms and tucking his face in the crook of his neck, warm and alive, the spirits humming in his head having their brethren so close again. Glassy blue surrounding him, meeting bright green.

“Hey,” Genji called when he felt his brother had calmed down. “I told you before, and I meant it. I forgave you a long ago, Hanzo. You were just a tool; it was not your decision. I’m here, I’m alive,” Genji said, comforting him. “I made peace with my place in this world,  _ oniichan _ , and so should you.”

Hearing his brother calling him as he used to when they were kids brought him close to tears again, the affectionate word bringing back memories of a better time when everything was simpler, and his brother was not scarred.

Genji kept talking, his words reverberating against his chest. “Look, I have my friends, I have a cool job kicking baddies, and I’m a fucking awesome cyborg ninja.”

Hanzo snorted with that, the burst of emotion subduing. He wiped his nose before moving to look at his brother, finding him looking back with a soft smile.

“If I have to remind you all that every day, I will, until you believe me,” Genji said squeezing his nape before releasing him. “And I’m happy you came, Hanzo.”

The archer only nodded, showing his emotions in such manner always left him empty, like if he was a bucket and had thrown everything out, ready to be filled again. Observing his brother going around his room and dressing with a shirt and a pair of cargo pants, he felt a spark of hope ignite in his chest, the dragons rumbling pleasantly in his head, soon extinguished when he reminded himself he still didn’t know about the broken spirit.

“You know, if you are that sad, you can always give me all the birthday gifts you didn’t buy these past years,” Genji joked, tying his combat boots. “Too soon?” he asked when he saw the frown on his brother’s face.

“A little, yes,” he replied without heat. “But that is not a bad idea, I should find something for you when it is my turn to go to the city,” he offered.

“Nah, in fact, I’ll be the one buying something for you, I got some cash recently,” he winked, grabbing his  _ ōdachi _ and signaling at him to follow him and leave the room. “New clothes. And don’t argue,” he said when Hanzo opened his mouth to protest. “Consider it a gift for myself. It pains me watching you walking around with that,” he said, pointing at his kyudo-gi. “I’m upgrading your wardrobe, and you are not stopping me. Or I’ll steal them in your sleep, and you will have to walk around naked.” he grinned at his brother’s huff. “Though I’m sure a certain cowboy would enjoy the show.”

Hanzo gaped at him. “I rather not, thanks,” he said, the mere thought of having Jesse ogling him harder making him shudder. The cowboy was in fact fun to talk to when he was not messing with him every second, and he had enjoyed joking with him the day before.

“Tsk, worry not, my brother,” Genji reassured him clapping a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll see if we can take free one of these days. I’d like to do something with my hair too,” he said, running his fingers through the black strands, messing it even more. “Perhaps something green. And something for you too.”

“I don’t want green in my hair,” Hanzo rumbled, half closing his eyes when the morning sun found them outside, strolling towards the hangar.

“Nah, but a different style. Mmm, I have to think about it.”

Hanzo just followed him through the arch that led to the hangar door, Athena opening it for them when she scanned them. Walking up the stairs and turning on the first door, they found the training room at the end, every step he took making him feel uneasy.  He knew the time to reveal his failure had come, and he feared his chatty, forgiving brother could reconsider having him close after knowing he broke the powerful spirit attached to him.

The room must have been soundproofed because only when the door opened, they heard the unmistakable sound of a revolver shooting. Entering they found McCree was already putting his skills to use, a few dummies already “dead”.

Looking quickly around he found a line of lockets close to the door, a wide entrance on the left leading to the armory where he could see cabinets and two working stations; a twin entrance on the other side showed a spacious room with padded floor where he supposed the tem could train hand to hand, and in front of them, the shooting area.

“Oh, wait, I got your bow ready,” his brother said, going to a near locket and taking his weapon from the inside. He hadn’t even noticed it wasn’t in his room that morning, worried about what was about to success. “Here, I cleaned it yesterday,” Genji offered with a bright smile. “Now, there is a cowboy to kick, make me proud,” he said, pushing him towards where Jesse was, finding he was looking already at them over his shoulder with his usual grin.

“What do you mean?” Hanzo asked, confused, holding his bow against his chest while being manhandled by his brother.

“He,” Genji pointed at Jesse, “Says you can’t be as good with a bow as he is with his gun.”   


“Is this another one of your bets?” stopping at the cowboy’s side, he glared at his brother.

“That’s not important, Hanzo. Focus. He puts you and your abilities in doubt. Now, kick his ass,” Genji said, crossing his arms.

Well, if that was the only thing they would do in the training room, he thought he could survive it. Breathing, he followed his banter. “If you are getting money on my expenses, I want my share.”   
  
“That's not gonna happen, darlin’,” butted McCree, reloading his gun, the metallic hand capturing Hanzo’s attention as it always did, admiring the ease of its movements. “I ain’t sayin’ you’re not awesome with that fancy bow of yours. I’m just sayin’ I’m better,” he said with a cocky grin, recharging the revolver with a fast-loader and closing the cylinder with a move of his wrist.

Hanzo frowned at him, considering the situation. He was confident in his skills, and it was not an actual fight, just shooting at dummies. He could do that without having to take off his sleeve, just hoping his brother said nothing about it. Passing the quiver onto his back and securing it, he tied the  _ yugake _ on his right hand while his brother went to the terminal to type something, the dummies resetting and going on a fast hide-and-show mode.

Half bowing at the cowboy, he said, mocking him, “Please, gunslinger, show us how it is done.”

“Watch and learn,” Jesse chuckled. Using his revolver as if it was an extension of his own arm he took down all the dummies with deadly precision, except two of them he was sure Torbjön put on purpose in an impossible place to reach, never leaving their cover for enough time to shoot at them. Still, he spinned around to look at Hanzo, proud and smug.

“Like sittin’ ducks, darlin’,” he said, pretending to blow the smoke coming off the barrel of his gun before holstering it in his hip.

“You have some skill then,” Hanzo said, impassive, arching an eyebrow when Jesse huffed.

“Skill… I’m unstoppable! Let’s see if you can do better, sweetheart,” he dared, moving back to let him space.

Rolling his eyes at him, Hanzo took his place, Genji starting again the same program on the terminal. He moved his head to both sides, pretending to relax his neck, taking air slowly. Grabbing the bow with his left hand, he made a show of taking an arrow and fitting the notch onto the string, nocking it. He lifted the bow to the height of his shoulder, pulling the string back gradually, furrowing his brows and checking the dummies moving in front of him.

Before aiming, he glanced at Jesse behind him and smirked. “You know, I have been curious about that belt of yours, McCree. What does it mean?”

“This?” Jesse asked, pointing at his waist. Grinning, he couldn’t stop himself. “Butts Are My Favourite, darlin’.” He laughed at the huff Hanzo threw at him before looking back at the targets.

With the cowboy distracted, Hanzo bent the bow to the right side to ease the oncoming nockings, breathed calmly, and shot. And shot again, and again, fast and without breaks, taking down one by one the dummies that popped behind the covers and that appeared floating through the side hatches, until only the ones that Jesse hadn’t been able to take down remained.

Jesse himself looked impressed with the precision of the archer, all the arrows stuck in the same point: the neck. “Pretty handy with that bow,” he said, nodding, a grin on his face. “Still, you are missing…”

Before he could finish, Hanzo nocked a new arrow, pushing at a small button at the end of it that split the head, pointed high at the wall perpendicular to the dummies, and shot. His mouth opened in surprise when the arrow ricocheted off the wall pinning the two dummies together, Athena’s terminal biping to signal the end of the program.

Hanzo chuckled, proud, hooking the bow across his chest and checking the incredulous face Jesse had. “Hahahaha… perfect.”

Genji approached, snickering at the dumbfounded face Jesse had. “ _ Hah. Aho da! _ Told you, Jesse. Now, pay. I have plans for that money,” he said, patting his brother’s shoulder and extending his other hand towards the cowboy.

“Dang, sugar plum, remind me to stay off your bad side,” the gunslinger said raising an eyebrow, impressed, before grabbing his phone to type something. “There, you have your money. If you tell me your brother can summon a dragon too I ain’t betting against that,” he joked, opening his mouth with surprise when he saw the grin on Genji’s face. “Nah, he can do that too?”

Hanzo felt like someone had dropped ice down his back, stiffening beside Genji, keeping a calm, straight face not to show anything while internally screaming for his brother not to follow the proposition in the cowboy’s voice.

“Of course he can! Hanzo, show him,” Genji said, jumping eagerly on his feet.

“I rather not,” he tried to deflect, crossing his arms and hiding his hands in the sleeves, the dragons stirring.

“Aw, come on! They have not been together in ages, and last time I only saw a blurry cloud,” Genji insisted, before grabbing his sword and summoning his dragon with ease, the bright, fully formed spirit surrounding him and looking down at Hanzo.

“Boy, I have seen you do that tons of times before, and I still shit my pants,” grunted Jesse, pretending to shiver with fear. Looking at Hanzo, he said, “I’m curious about yours, I reckon. Is it green too?” an inquiring tone accompanying his arched brow.

Hanzo refused again, his dragons buzzing under his skin trying to break his control and reunite with their brethren. “No. I prefer not showing the spirit to strangers.”

“Bah, he is no stranger Hanzo. He has known about mine since we worked together for Blackwatch, you can trust him,” he pointed at his dragon, who had gone closer to the cowboy to sniff him, making him chuckle.

Hanzo had his hands squeezed tight inside of his sleeves, his dragons pushing and roaring to be released, feeling his control over them slipping away. His heart hammered in his chest, mentally asking the spirit not to do it, the blue shine around him a denial to his petition. “I think we should talk before, Genji.”

“Come on! He wants to get out! You are alight like a Christmas tree!”

“Sweetheart, you look pale,” Jesse added, noticing his face.

“I don’t…” Hanzo shook his head, fear heavy in his guts. “Genji,” he pleaded.

“Han-zo,” Genji sang, the eyes of the green dragon now stuck on him. Shock froze him when he heard for the first time the dual voice of his dragon whispering in his head, deep and rusty.  _ Hanzo _ . With a final push, they broke his ties, twisting their bodies in the air, meeting the green spirit with joy, his brother looking at them astonished.

Jesse stood silent, watching impressed the magnificent creatures above them rumbling and dancing, noticing the tense ambient between the two brothers but not knowing why.

Regret filling him and painting his features, Hanzo pulled down the left sleeve of his  _ kyudo-gi  _ revealing his tattoo when his brother looked at him, eyes still widened with surprise. “I broke it,” he murmured. When Genji furrowed his face in a silent question, he added. “The night I killed you. It broke.”

Pain and understanding combined with a weird mix of expressions in Genji’s face. Setting with resolution, he replied, “No, no you didn’t.”

“How can you say such thing when the design is split in two? When they,” he said bewildered, pointing at the dragons above them, “are divided? Broken?”

“Because I know you,  _ aniki _ . You didn’t break him. The situation forced upon you did. The Elders did,” Genji stated with determination, raising a hand to stop Hanzo when he opened his mouth to refute him. “I should have told you earlier, but I didn’t want to bring the past and obscure this new opportunity between us, Hanzo,” he sighed.

“When I joined Overwatch, one of the things I did was help them take down the clan and their criminal empire. I killed the Elders, Hanzo,” he said with a shrug at his brother’s surprised expression. “Perhaps for my own vengeance besides the orders I had. Perhaps for not fighting harder when I saw what they were doing with you. They knew I was the only thing in their way to control you, and you always wanted to please them, same as with father. The perfect heir,” he huffed. “I saw the struggle you endured, Hanzo, wanting to prove being useful to the clan, and wanting to keep me at your side.   
And I was of no help with that, always clubbing and drinking, fucking around. I was a burden, and the clan wanted me out of sight to have you under their command. I found correspondence exchanged between them, plotting to take you down once you were no longer of use for them. There were only two possibles outcomes: you killing me, so they earned a weapon to control, or we both ending up dead. I guess you running away from their grasp was something no one expected.”

Genji shook his head, collecting his thoughts. “I could always contact my master and ask him if you want, maybe he is more well-versed in this kind of matter.”

Hanzo, his arm covered again, only watched at him, confused. Why wasn’t he angry? “Why are you that calm? Have you not understand a thing? I broke the spirit!” he insisted bewildered, Genji only shaking his head at him.

“And what? Do you want me to be mad at you?” he asked. “There is nothing I could earn from that, he could still be divided in two, and I don’t like getting angry for no reason.”

Hanzo didn’t know what he wanted, but he certainly didn’t expect such reaction from his brother. Why was he not yelling? He had failed him, the clan, the spirit! He broke it. He had  _ killed _ his brother, he… he deserved to be punished, he thought, his hands tight at his sides. To be hated for it, not forgiven, his pinched expression an open book for Genji to read.

Genji softened his face, smiling sadly. “I still think the same, Hanzo. I want you here, one dragon or two. I spent a long time loathing my very own existence, but I am at peace now. I don’t blame you, that night we both were scarred with the Elders orders,  _ oniichan _ . We have suffered the consequences for years, but we can take this new opportunity and move on. Together,” he offered, placing his hand on Hanzo’s shoulder and squeezing it.

Hanzo didn’t know what to say, or how to react, still trying to conceive his brother didn’t mind his dragon was broken, a myriad of feelings twisting in his chest. He opened his mouth to say something when a chuckle got their attention to the side of the room. Widening his eyes, he saw the three dragons surrounding McCree, who was scratching the chin of the blue spirits while Genji’s tried to steal his hat.

Jesse had been quiet during the whole discussion feeling like an intruder, alternately looking at each brother and considering sneaking away of the room when the green dragon nipped at his hat, the other two approaching curious. He knew how to treat domestic pets, and he used to deal with horses in his youth, but a dragon? Worse, two? He was accustomed to the playful green spirit, a perfect match to Genji if someone asked him, but Hanzo’s were a different matter. He was still learning how to treat their owner, for fuck’s sake.

Extending his hands slowly, he let them sniff him, the deep rumble they released resonating in his chest. Praying not to lose his other flesh hand, he ran his fingers through their whiskers, the dragons closing their eyes, pleased. Encouraged, he dragged down his hands to his chins, scratching them. He chucked surprised when the dragons purred like if they were big, scaly cats and not gigantic lizards able to eat him whole. He looked at the siblings when he noticed the sudden silence in the room, finding them studying him, Genji smirking, Hanzo gapping at him.

“What?” he asked, still scratching the dragons. “Hey! That’s mine, you vulgar nibbler!” he called when Genji’s dragon finally took his hat off, floating away with it, the other two pushing insisting at his hands to make him continue his rub.

That, if nothing else, was what struck Hanzo more, seeing his dragons not only free but ignoring his internal turmoil and… he was about to think  _ fraternising with the enemy _ , but, it was McCree, he thought, wrinkling his nose. He wasn’t an enemy; he was just… McCree.

The broken thoughts running through his tired mind made no sense to him. The whole situation made no sense either. It seemed so unreal, so travesty, his dragons playings with the cowboy, Genji’s swirling around him with a hat in his mouth and his brother laughing at it, that an unexpected chuckle escaped his mouth, surprising him. Covering his mouth he tried to suppress the bubbling, hysterical laugh raising from his chest to no avail, so he just let it go, all his pain, regret and fear of the last couple of days --damn, the last years-- leaving him in an unstoppable guffaw.

Genji looked at his brother fighting to breathe, the laugh shading his face with a hint of red. Hearing his older brother laugh made him smile, a chuckle escaping his lips. “Hanzo?”

“This is… this is so ridiculous,” Hanzo managed to say, a hiccup starting a new wave of laugh. “My dragon is broken, you are alive, and do not mind that he is broken, the spirits are playing with a cowboy… this is crazy,” he murmured with a sad giggle, the mentioned dragons leaving McCree and approaching him.

They surrounded him, rumbling with what he interpreted as affection, and dissolved in the air, warmth and brightness around him until they disappeared.  _ Hanzo _ . 

His brother was watching him carefully, placing his hand again on his shoulder in a silent question, shaking his head in response. He could need time to think and consider everything that had happened.

“Sorry to interrupt, but,” Jesse spoke, frowning at Genji. “I want my hat back.”

Genji’s laugh filled the room now, pursuing the green dragon trying to take the hat out of his mouth, who was playfully flying in the air.

“Are you alright, partner?” McCree asked softly, watching Hanzo under a new light. He knew he was a strong warrior, stoic and composed, but comprehending better what he had gone through and still dealt with only served to make stronger his want, his  _ need _ to know him more.

Glancing at him and seeing only an honest worry on his face, Hanzo answered sincerely. “I think I will be, gunslinger.”

Perhaps his brother was right and was about time to forgive himself and move on, accept what he had done and let no one use him against his will again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hah. Aho da!: Ha. You fool!
> 
> An angsty chapter, but not too much! (I think?) 
> 
> I struggled with it, especially with the explanation Genji gives about the elders and how he killed them. Hopefully it makes sense!
> 
> From now on we will only have flirting and pining, because these two idiots deserve some love <3


	4. Chapter 4

A few days later Hanzo was having an early breakfast in the mess hall when Jesse joined him.

“Howdy, partner,” saluted Jesse, tipping his hat before going straight to the coffee pot, Hanzo nodding as a response.

It had been strange, being aware of the cowboy knowing about his dragons and the discussion in the training room with his brother. Still, he kept his usual nonchalant behavior towards him, flirting and bantering whenever he saw him, so Hanzo took the opportunity and just did the same, relaxing and falling into the easy familiarity their talks were becoming. Even when every time he saw him he remembered how his dragons had behaved around him, which only increased his own curiosity about the man. Not like he intended to recognize that aloud.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” Jesse asked sitting beside Hanzo, taking a sip and immediately scrunching his face in disgust. “Dear Lord, who made the coffee?” he said, putting one of the cookies he had brought with him in his mouth to take away the taste.

“I think Winston wants us to put the remaining boxes in the old crew quarter. I think it is below the hangar?” Hanzo asked, watching McCree nod at him. “Something about cleaning the path to one of Athena’s big drones so we can launch it, to improve the communication outreach. Athena could explain it better,” he suggested, looking at the AI’s camera.

“Yes, that is correct. My communication network is severely lacking in reach and security. Since Overwatch was closed Winston and I stayed on a low profile, so working with a normal security level was fine. But if the team is going to work on dangerous missions I need to improve my encrypted channels and my global range. Launching a satellite drone is the best option,” Athena explained through the speakers.

“Alright then, cleaning and launching rockets, mighty fine to me,” Jesse said at the same time Genji entered the room.

“Good morning,” he said, going to grab his coffee and the rest of the eggs left in the pan to keep its warmth. “What are you guys up to?” he asked, sitting in front of his brother

“I was here, enjoyin’ the black water someone made today, and jawing with your brother,” Jesse said. Looking at Hanzo, who was finishing his tea, he added with a wink, “Perhaps you could give me some sugar to make it better, whaddaya think?”

Hanzo, glancing disconcerted at his brother when he groaned at the cowboy’s words, grabbed the sugar bowl in front of him and passed it to Jesse, who barked a laugh before taking it.

“Thanks, darlin’,” he said, taking it with a grin on his face.

“You are welcome,” said Hanzo looking at the gunslinger confused, being sure he had been mocked but didn’t understand how. Deciding to ignore him instead, he got up to leave his cup and plate in the dishwasher. “I will head to the training room, Genji, if you still want to spar with me before going to work.” He nodded at Jesse as a goodbye before leaving to go to his room and change into his training clothes.

“Stop with the flirting, McCree, it’s getting old,” Genji said with a pained face.

Jesse only chuckled at him, adding sugar to his coffee to make it drinkable. “Huh, no. It’s funny messin’ with your brother, I’m sure if he didn’t like it he coulda sent his dragons upon me already.”

“Ugh,” grunted Genji, resigned, focusing on his plate. “I’ll suggest him to choke you with his arms.”

“That will be a sweet death then,” nodded the cowboy, sipping cautiously his coffee.

“I’m glad though, that you treat him like a person,” Genji murmured. “You only knew him for what he did to me, but he is my brother, and I’m happy to have him here.”

“I was willing to hate him, y’know? But you forgave him, and seeing him wander around with that big, black cloud of regret above his head kinda changed my perspective.”

Genji just shook his head at him with a fond smile. “Still. Thanks.”

“Yeah, what can I say, I have a big heart,” Jesse shrugged, looking offended at the coffee and its horrible flavor. If he had obsessed the past two days remembering Hanzo’s laugh or how his face reddened and his eyes shined, it was nobody’s business. Holding his breath, he finished the nasty coffee, stuffing his mouth with more cookies after he swallowed it down.

Jesse almost choked trying not to laugh when he saw Genji sipping from his cup and wrinkling his nose with disgust. Gulping, he offered him the sugar.

* * *

  
Hazo let himself drop on the floor panting, sweat dripping down his neck and drenching his already wet shirt, taking the bottle his brother offered before sitting at his side. He almost sighed with pleasure when the cold water refreshed his dry throat, calming his thirst.

“You have improved a lot, Genji,” he recognized after recovering his breath, taking the towel he had brought with him and drying his face.

“Thanks. You are not bad for an old man either,” his brother joked, grinning at his huff.

“There is something I have wanted to ask for a while, if you do not mind my impertinence,” he said. After what had happened he took some time to ponder about it, gathering the courage to finally ask. “Your dragon is still connected to you,” he said with an inquisitive tone.

“Yeah, he is,” Genji smiled, knowing what he meant to ask. “Not in my arm any longer. He moved.” when he saw his brother raising an eyebrow, he continued. “In fact, I think he was the one keeping me alive until the Overwatch team found me. I can only imagine Ang... doctor Ziegler astonishment when she was operating, though I have a pic! He is around my heart now,” he explained, nodding at his brother surprised expression. “What can I say, yours split, mine moved… magic dragons is not my field of expertise, but I’m happy they are still around,” he said with an accepting tone.

The slip didn’t go unnoticed to Hanzo but he decided not to ask, nodding at his brother in agreement.

“I had the impression it was attached to your _ōdachi_ ,” he said, pointing with his chin at where it was resting against the wall.

“Ryū Ichimonji? Not really, no. Although I make people think it is there where the dragon is. You know, for preservation purposes,” he said, tapping his finger on his chest where his heart was beating. “I took it from Hanamura when Blackwatch went there to deal with the clan,” he explained. “It was a few days later, when I was training with it that I felt the spirit stir. I suppose because I was focused on working with something familiar, instead of the sword they gave me, that I could reconnect with him. I just maintained the illusion that he had somehow got attached to the sword because it was from back home, and nobody but me touched it. Only you know the truth besides me,” he said calmly.

Hanzo felt overwhelmed with such trust deposited in him. His brother had put his life in his hands like if it was nothing, confident and in such an easy way, that he felt his throat close. Swallowing saliva to calm down, he remembered something. “But you said doctor Ziegler had seen the dragon.”  
  
“Yeah, but unless she opens me and sees it in person, she is convinced like the others that the dragon reappeared because of the weapon,” he said nonchalantly.

“You do not trust her?” Hanzo had seen them both chatting and laughing around the base in what seemed a close way, so their relationship was deeper than just teammates.

“I do. With my life. But that felt… too personal,” Genji shrugged, not as unconcerned as he pretended to be. Hanzo saved that information for later, not wanting to pry more.

“I spoke to my master, Zenyatta,” Genji said, changing the subject with no further explanation, grabbing Hanzo’s attention again. “He could only speculate, but I agree with what he said. He thinks that the turmoil in you, divided between protecting me or obeying the clan, was what broke the spirit. Perhaps he is wrong, but, with all that happened it seems the closest thing to the truth we can get.”

“Hm.” It was not like there was an expert specialized in spirit dragons around to help them fix a broken one, Hanzo thought, looking down at his arm and the two dragons intertwined around it. He played with the bottle in his hands before opening it again to drink, raising his head just in time to see his brother smirking.

“So, you and McCree.”

Hanzo choked with a sip of water. “What “me and McCree” are you talking about?” he asked between coughs, eyes bulging with fear of having being caught staring at the cowboy.

“Relax, I only meant that you are talking more and having fun instead of throwing daggers at him with your eyes,” Genji chuckled. “Told you he was a nice guy, like the rest of the team. Speaking of which, I guess they are already working, so we should get moving,” he said, getting up and offering a hand to Hanzo.

“I did his work for days, I should be able to rest and leave him to do all the work by himself,” he grunted, his heart relaxing in his chest, walking towards the small locker room where the showers were.

“You did that because you wanted. If you want to make him pay that debt you should tell him,” Genji proposed.

“Hm. I shall consider that,” he said, before taking off the stinky gym clothes and entering the shower.

* * *

  
Hanzo was moving the discarded boxes close to the crew quarters stairs to ease moving them down when he noticed Lena close to him, watching him expectant. Puting the box he had in his arms in its place, he faced her, shoving the ends of his golden scarf over his shoulder. “May I help you?”

“Oh! Sorry! I didn’t mean to bother, I was just wondering… Can I ask you a question? I have wanted to ask that since you arrived! You don’t have to answer though, if it’s too invasive,” she said jumping in place with her endless energy, a pleading tone in her voice.

He heard McCree’s spurs stopping close to them, so grinning to himself he decided to be the first to mock him for once, instead of the other way around. “Well that’s a first, usually I get asked a million of questions and receive unwanted commentaries, so you asking permission is a nice change,” he said, the cowboy sputtering with mocking outrage behind him.

“Hey, I feel called out. I never bother you,” he protested.

“You always manage to innervate me,” grunted Hanzo, watching him place the box he was carrying on top of another crate, his traitorous eyes lingering a second too long in the flexed muscles of his arms and the tight plaid shirt stretched over his shoulders.

“I did nothing now!” complained Jesse, Lena muffing her chuckles with her hands and looking at them.

“Still here am I, smoldering with your mere presence.” Turning again to Lena, Hanzo  smoothened his face before asking, “what was your question?”

“Uh, well, I was curious about your boots? Leg protectors? They look so cool, with the tiny lights,” she said, pointing down at them.

“Oh,” he didn’t expect that, glazing down at his feet, watching McCree check his legs out of the corner of his eyes. “They are heavily modified _jika tabi_ ,” he explained. “Personalized for my style of fight, so my legs do not get overworked or injured when jumping or climbing. They were made before…” he stops for a second looking at Lena, who only nodded, understanding. “As far as I remember, they built them with light metal plaques to protect and cushion the joints, and microprocessors and adaptive gear to help me to accelerate and gain better impulse,” he said, finding McCree looking up and down at him instead of his feet, grinning when he found himself busted.

“Ah! That sounds cool!” exclaimed Lena. “I don’t know if you have to buy new material to maintain them, being… I don’t want to say old, because they look awesome, but, you know,” she said, waving her hands.

He nodded. “Yes, perhaps I should, now that I am here. It has been a while since I did a proper maintenance on them, and the grip is not as good as it used to. Maybe Torb…” but before he finished his question she interrupted him.

“No! I mean, Torbjörn is awesome with any kind of metal thing, but unless you want to end with thick boots that have turrets hidden in them, I suggest talking with Winston, or even Mercy,” she nodded. “They could do a better job improving the already existent technology without too many alterations.”

“I see. Perhaps when we are done with the cleaning I will pay a visit to the doctor. Thanks for the recommendation,” he said, pleased with how the advice his brother had given him, _frown less and talk more_ , was working, and despite the awkwardness he felt he liked been in the base with the team.

“Speaking of work, darlin’, this was the last crate we need to take down.”

“And that’s my sign to go back to my own work! See ya for lunch!” Lena said waving before blinking into the air and disappearing.

Huffing, Jesse stretched his arms above his head, grunting with pleasure when he felt a couple of cracks in his back. He opened his eyes when he heard a muffled noise, finding Hanzo bending over the crates, checking something. “Everything ok?”

“Hm, yes. Just checking the locks, an accident could occur when moving them down the stairs and better prevent that.” Hanzo said the first crap that crossed his mind and reprimanding himself for it. He felt a warm flush covering his face, the sight of the plaid shirt riding up and showing a slice of tanned skin and dark hair was something he didn’t expect to affect him that much.

 _Stop it, you fool_ , he thought before grabbing one of the lighter boxes and walking towards the stairs. He knew the gunslinger was an attractive man, full of flirt and easy smiles; perhaps his company after years of prolonged loneliness was stirring feelings and emotions he was not used to experimenting anymore. He just wanted to know better his teammate, and not for personal reasons. Nothing else.

He got lost in his own thoughts trying to convince himself, so distracted that he jumped surprised when McCree put his hand on his shoulder after he had spent a few minutes unmoving and just glaring at the lockers of the old crew quarter.

“Hey, are you alright?” Jesse had noticed the silence surrounding Hanzo and the scrunched face he had, ignoring him and his jokes, leaving him concerned.

“Ah. Yes. My apologies,” the archer said, checking the crates already placed around looking for an excuse and finding none. “I think we finished with the light ones, I will help you with the heavy crates.”

Looking at his face, searching for something although he was not sure what, Jesse grinned slowly. “Y’know, I know the perfect way to raise the mood, darlin’.” when Hanzo arched his eyebrow, he added, “You could take off again that jacket of yours, like you did the other day, feel the breeze on your skin.” Jesse winked when the archer glared at him.

“And how that exactly helps to improve my mood?”

“Oh, I never said it was to raise yours, sweetheart. But you’d always make a man ‘appy,” he said jokingly putting his hands on his hips, checking Hanzo up and down with a smirk on his lips.

 _Two can play at this_ , Hanzo thought, approaching him slowly after a few seconds pretending to consider his offer, looking at him with a sultry stare while raising his right hand to the sash on his waist, the corners of his mouth twitching when Jesse followed the movement with widened eyes. Stopping a few inches of distance from him, he pulled indolently at the knot, watching the cowboy gulping loud, moving fast his left hand to flick him on the nose.

He chuckled when Jesse yelped, jumping back to rub his face. “In your dreams, gunslinger. Now let finish this,” he said walking towards the door, laughing openly when he heard McCree protesting behind him.

Jesse watched him dumbfounded, a grin spreading on his face. _Damn right in my dreams, you teaser_ , he thought before following him.

They were grabbing the first of the heavier crates to take it down together when Athena spoke through the speakers.

“We have visitors coming through the main entrance.”

Hanzo looked at Jesse, who frowned.

“What the hell?”

“I suppose that is not normal?” the archer asked, taking his bow from where he had left it against a toolbox, following the gunslinger to leave the hangar.

“Of course not! Athena, who on earth is at the door?” he called, running faster when he got no answer, turning the corner of the comm tower to go to the research area.

Getting an arrow ready in case they were being attacked, Hanzo ran after him up the stairs and through Winston’s working area, slowing their rate through a couple of corridors and soon arriving at the small, public entrance of the base where everyone else was already waiting.

His brother must have been training with Angela because both had their armour on, his weapon unsheathed, the doctor pointing what seemed to be a staff at the door, a turret assembled by Torbörn in the middle of the room.

“Athena? Athena! Say something!” called Winston, typing on a terminal trying to check the external cameras, stopping when the AI finally answered.

“Biometric registers, 100% match. Scanners, clean. Please, remember to keep your weapons secured at all time. Welcome to the base, Commander Morrison, Captain Amari,” she said, opening the doors.

“What the fuck,” Genji said, sounding perplexed even with the robotic tone his mask gave to his voice.

Hanzo frowned at him, confused. “But you told me they were dead,” he whispered.

“Yeah, we thought so.”

Hanzo glanced at McCree, who had been silent the whole time. He found him scowling, his body tense to the point of being able to feel his ferocity as a physical force surrounding him, his mandibles tight, his gun ready to shoot if needed. Hanzo was about to ask him if he was fine when multiple gasps distracted him.

Entering the hall where two white-haired soldiers that he recognized thanks to the pics his brother had shown him while explaining what he had done while he worked with Overwatch before he left the organization. Tall and impressive, with a mask and a visor covering his face, was Jack Morrison, his rifle hanging on his back leaving him unarmed. At his side, with an eyepatch half covered with a blue scarf around her head, and her sniper rifle on her shoulder, Ana Amari, a dignified presence exuding elegance and the same kind of strength as her partner even with a smaller frame.

After a few moments where everyone was frozen in their place, Lena jumped to hug them, sobbing. “We thought you were dead!”

Disentangling himself from the hug with a pat on her back, Jack let Ana deal with her, approaching the others.

“Winston.” His deep voice sounded distorted with the mask on. “I’m sure you all have questions, but those can wait for a moment,” he said, looking back at Ana, who nodded at him while rubbing Lena’s back to comfort her. “I’ll keep it short, for everyone’s sake. I was in Giza tracking Ana, where she had been looking for me too. I arrived at a compound I discovered Talon wanted to attack knowing she could be there to stop them, when I was ambushed by one of their members. Ana had been following him, since it seems he is their new leader. What we found...” He stopped, sighing with frustration before taking off the visor.

Hanzo watched carefully the wrinkled face, disfigured with two long, dark scars. The bright blue eyes that ran over him before moving to the rest of the team, and that had been full of life in the old pictures he had seen, were now looking empty and tired. Looking at Ana, he found her observing Jesse at his side, sorrow painting her features.

“The one that attacked me was Gabe,” he said, everyone else voicing their surprise and concern. “He didn’t recognize me. He showed none sign of knowing who we were. I only saw part of his face, I don’t know what happened to him or what Talon did, but he was… I don’t know, surrounded with black fog, he disappeared and reappeared at his will, like a ghost. But it was him.”

The whole team got closer to him, Ana releasing Lena and approaching as well, the air filled with questions about why, when, where, how, Torbjörn’s torrent of voice cursing and grunting above all. Hanzo stayed behind, close to his brother, Jesse at his side unmoving.

“So, she was supposed to be dead,” he asked in a low voice, his brother nodding. “And he died too, in an explosion.” Another nod. “Genji, just out of curiosity, was pretending to be dead a common tactic taught at Blackwatch, or?” he whispered, making his brother snort.

Before he could get an answer Jesse holstered his gun and turned around leaving the room at a quick pace, grunting to himself.

Watching him leave fuming, Hanzo looked at Genji, who took off his mask and rubbed his face before talking.

“Ana was a good friend of his, besides his teacher,” he explained. “She died, or pretended to, before the fall of the organization. Jack and Gabriel… Gabriel was the one who recruited him, his boss, but he was someone very important to him. He lost his arm trying to rescue them both when the Headquarters exploded,” he said, sadness filling his voice.

A sudden need to check the gunslinger invaded Hanzo, who frowned at it. Looking at the group reunited, he put his arrow and bow on his back. “I think I am not needed here, this is a personal reunion,” he said, turning to go back where he came.

“Hey, do me a favor and check on McCree? He could use a distraction,” his brother said, giving him an excuse to go looking for the man, nodding before leaving the place.

When he arrived at the research area he asked, “Athena? Do you know where is McCree?”

“He is in his room,” the AI informed.

“Thanks,” he said, walking towards the corridor where the rooms where.  
  
  


Jesse was pacing around his room trying to process everything. His teacher, his _friend_ , the woman he had respected and appreciated the most back when he was still a brat and that helped mold him into the man he became, had lied to everyone and pretended to be dead because… He didn’t know why. _And Fareeha?_ He widened his eyes. Did she know? It was her mother, she probably knew, right? That only added a new weight to the knots in his stomach. All the times they had talked the past years, when he had comforted her for her loss, and he had looked for someone to help soothe his own pain… he rubbed his face, anger and misery twisting together.

 _Gabe_. His boss, his friend, the man that rescued him from the gang life and gave him a purpose, the man he failed to rescue when the headquarters exploded. He looked at his bionic arm, regret and disappointment tightening his chest. If he had been faster, if he had been more careful and watched where he had stepped he could have rescued him. He could not had been taken by Talon, twisted and transformed into… whatever foggy ghost Jack said he was now. But he had run blindlessly, not checking the floor he was running over, and had fell through it, the debris trapping him and leaving his arm too broken to fix it. He was grateful Angela had managed to save his life, but still, that stupid mistake was something that burdened him deeply.

He was lost in his memories when he heard  a knock on his door, barking to whoever it was that it was unlocked, not too eager to face anyone in his state.

  
  


Opening the door, Hanzo found Jesse pacing around the small place, his hat laying in the bed close to his weapon. He stepped inside, unsure about how to proceed. He knew he had never been good at comforting people, his brother the only one he learned how to, back when they were younger, and only because he voiced aloud what he wanted. Watching the cowboy running his hands through his hair with hurt and anger twisting his face made him wish he was better at it.

He cleared his throat before talking. “Are you all right?”

Jesse stopped for a second to look at him, huffing. “No, I am not,” he said in something close to a grunt.

Hanzo looked around, trying to come up with something. “I know what you are feeling at this moment. I thought for a long time my brother was dead too.”

“Yeah, but I was not the one who killed them,” he snapped, widening his eyes a second later when he realized what he had said. Spinning around fast he saw Hanzo going rigid, his face losing his color. _Shit, no_.

Hanzo felt his stomach turning to ice, his dragons waking up and growling in his head when they felt the same he was feeling. _So that is how he really sees me_ , he thought. He had been waiting for the other shoe to drop, fearing it was just a matter of time the gunslinger showed what he thought of him, all the flirts and jokes just a masquerade.

 _What a fool, thinking it could be real_. Turning around, he approached the door to leave the room, his heart heavy with pain on his chest.

Jesse saw Hanzo put his emotionless mask on, the one he hated most because he couldn’t read him, regret churning his guts. “Wait! No, darlin’, hold on a second,” he said, grabbing his left arm with his bionic one.

Hanzo’s disappointment and frustration merged into fury, his emotions boosted with the spirits roaring in his head at the contact, a brief surge of blue electricity rushing through his left arm at the same time he pushed the cowboy away. “Do not touch me,” he barked without looking back when he heard McCree grunt in pain, leaving the room.

Jesse felt the wave of energy going through his arm and his body, the impetuousness force making him fall to the floor, the hit leaving him breathless. He laid there for a second, astonished. It had being like being pushed back. By a car. A shiny, blue car with fangs that could eat him if it wanted.

 _Well, I fucked up mighty fine_ , he thought rubbing his face. He tried to get up, supporting his weight with his left arm, when it gave up and he almost face-planted on the floor. He looked at it, surprised when he felt nothing, the bionic arm irresponsive, its lights turned off. “Aw, no.”

“Agent McCree, do you need assistance?” Athena’s voice came through the speakers on the corner of the room.

“Nah, I’m fine. My arm, not so much. I think Hanzo got hurt worse than me,” he murmured, shaking his arm as if that could make it work again. _The dragons must have fried something_. Now he had no excuse to keep delaying his visit to Angela.

Getting up with a frustrated sigh, he got his phone to call her. “Hey, doc. Uh, if you’re not busy, I could use your help with something,” he said when she answered. “Yeah, nothing to worry about, but could you meet me in the med bay? Awesome, much obliged.”

Jesse grunted to himself, looking down at the useless prosthetic and reprimanding himself for it. Hanzo had come just to look for him, and he had snapped and spat such a nasty gratuitous thing at him. He was surprised he had not punched him for being an asshole, because he felt like he deserved it. Clicking his tongue, he pulled up the sleeve on his left arm, disconnecting the prosthetic of its hooks, hissing at the sensation that ran through his bone.

Taking down the sleeve to cover his arm again, he grabbed the prosthetic and left his room, deciding to go look for Hanzo after his visit to the med bay, hoping he had not messed up their relationship, whatever it was, with his big mouth.

  


Hanzo walked without a destination, just wanting to put distance between himself and the others. He passed by the comm tower, going up the small slope towards the hangar, entering and going through it, opening the door on the other side that led to the launching point, trying to cope with the rush of feelings and self-deprecating thoughts that were filling his mind and making his guts churn.

He knew it, it had been too good to be true. Coming to work to a place where no one thought what he had done to his brother was wrong? Impossible.

He stopped under the launching tower when he found himself at a dead end, finally taking the stairs towards the top, not caring if he could do that or not since the whole team was busy with their old friends. Sitting on the platform under the sun he closed his eyes, the salty breeze refreshing his skin and calming his nerves, feeling his dragons twisting on his arm, rumbling and whispering his name trying to comfort him. He appreciated their gesture, glad for the first time of having them with him even if they were only in his head.

Their voices had been getting clearer with each passing day, like if the wall that had kept them away from him was disappearing, allowing him to understand and feel them better. He was not accustomed yet to hear them whenever they wanted to express their opinion no matter the subject, neither to sense their energy on his arm, but he was learning to do so.

He let his hair fall down his back undoing his bun, enjoying the sun on his face, absorbed by his thoughts and losing track of the time. He was not going to leave the base. Genji was there, and they had started to reconnect, he didn’t want to lose that, deciding that if he’d have to keep his distance from the cowboy to stay at his brother’s side, he would.

Sadness filled him with that thought, since he liked their moments together and the friendship that seemed to grow between them. He should have to learn to live without it, then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you noticed, I changed a few things of the actual lore to adapt it to this fic, I hope I didn't mess it too much and you enjoyed the ideas I came up with :)
> 
> I am sorry for the lack of action, all they have done is move crates around :( hopefully they will get to do more exciting things soon, now that Jack and Ana are back!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank the lovely comments on the previous chapter, I'm glad you understood where Hanzo was coming from and that what happened was just an accident <3
> 
> I hope you like this chapter as well, and as always, if there is any mistake, or any tag I need to add, let me know :)

“Whatcha mean you can’t fix it?” McCree said, perplexed.

Angela sighed, poking the prosthetic. “I mean precisely what I said, Jesse. If you’d come when I told you, or when you said you would, these past days, perhaps this couldn’t have happened. The connector that needed to be replaced is melted over the microprocessors; I can’t fix that without having to dismount the whole prosthetic, replacing all the wiring and praying it works.” She looked at him, shrugging. “Best we can do is replace it.”  
  
“Aw, no,” he groaned, rubbing his face. “New arm means endless tests to see if it’s compatible, I hate that!”  
  
“Luckily for you that won’t be necessary,” she chuckled when Jesse widened his eyes comically. “I still have your files; I only have to replicate what we did last time. Maybe improve-- aw Jesse, stop it!” she chuckled when the gunslinger hauled her with his arm and kissed her forehead with a sonorous smooch.

“Angela, you are the best, my blonde angel,” he said squeezing her one more time before releasing her. “How long will it take?”

“Well, since the worst part is done, I only have to order it to one of my suppliers. I can do the modifications today and order it later, so I guess two days, top,” she said smiling. “I’d like to have it sooner, I know you hate not…“ she waved at his left arm, flustered. “Not being able to--”

“Hey, no,” he stopped her, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. “It’s not like we are doin’ much around right now. I’ll survive for two days.” Dressing and eating would be a pain in the ass though, but since what had happened was his fault he was not about to protest. “Y’know, you could add somethin’ like what Genji has, but instead of shurikens, bullets? Or, small missiles?” he asked jokingly, making Angela huff.

“That is not going to happen, Jesse. You didn’t even tell me what were you doing to damage your prosthetic this much,” she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Ah, y’know me, always touchin’ what I shouldn’t, pokin’ at dangerous things. I learned my lesson tho, never playin’ with them again. At least without a glove,” he winked, deflecting, but telling the closest thing to the truth he could without actually telling it.

“How about you don’t play with dangerous things at all, period?” she asked, getting up to go to her terminal, sighing before adding, “You should talk to Ana, Jesse. She had missed us, and I’m sure she’d love to talk to you.” She looked at him over her shoulder, a sad smile on her face.

The smirk he had on his face the whole time turned into something grim. “Yeah. That ain’t gonna happen, sweetheart. I rather shove my other arm up the same place I shoved my prosthetic,” Angela sighed again, but he didn’t care. He was sure the dragons frying him a bit more could hurt less than facing Ana that moment. Which reminded him, he had to apologize to Hanzo.

“Alright, I’ll leave you to it, Doc,” he said, getting up from the stool he had been sitting on and going to the door. “Ah, don’t forget--”

“Yes, the skull. I know,” she nodded, not taking her eyes out of her terminal, where he could already see the design of his prosthetic.

Leaving the med bay, he spoke aloud. “Hey, Athena, do you know where Hanzo is? I need to talk to him.”  
  
“Yes, I do,” the AI said.

“Aw, c’mon, not that again,” he protested.

“I have orders not to tell his location unless it is of an important matter.” He could swear Athena was chastising him.

“I just wanna apologize,” he murmured reaching the balcony of the research area, someone calling him from below before he could insist. Approaching the rail, he saw Winston, Jack, Ana, and Torbjörn around the table in the middle of the room where Winston had his plan for launching the drone, a holographic map of the base replacing the usual world globe with the orbit planned for the aircraft.

“Hey McCree, we are about to launch the… what happened?” Winston asked when he saw he was missing his left arm.

“Nothin’ to worry about, Doc is fixing it,” he shrugged nonchalant, observing from the corner of his eye how Ana widened her visible eye, tightening her mouth in a thin line. Right, she didn’t know what had happened. Not like he cared, he thought frowning for a second. “Well, congrats on the launchin’, that means no more crates to move. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he said turning around, ignoring the feminine voice calling his name.

Reaching his room he knew it was the obvious first place to look for him, and his mood was enough sour already to deal with something else. Grabbing the bottle of whiskey, he had in one of the drawers of his table he decided to look for a peaceful place to drink. He could look for Hanzo when he’d be in a better state of mind.  


* * *

 

Hanzo was pondering going inside the base to look for something to eat, even if dinner time was closer than the forgotten lunch. He had been under the sun long enough to feel his cheeks hot; sure they could be reddened by then. He grabbed his comm to leave when it beeped in his hand, Athena’s logo on the screen. Furrowing his brows, he tapped it. “Yes?”

“Agent Hanzo--”

“I already told you I am no agent, Athena. Please use only my name,” he said almost fondly, the AI never following his order more than a couple of times after receiving it.

“Hanzo,” she repeated, sounding serious. “I recommend moving to a safer place. We are about to start the procedures to launch the drone and reestablish my network.”  
  
“Hm. It seems your commander is in a hurry,” he murmured, collecting his belongings and descending the tower.

“Yes. he had more news besides the related to commander Reyes, so I need to secure my channels to start working. There will be a debriefing later to inform about that,” she said while he walked back inside the hangar.

“Were not everyone at the meeting?”

“No, a few members were missing, besides you. Agent Genji and agent Tracer are checking the systems are all ready for the launching,” she informed while he approached the corner of the comm tower.

“Are they still reunited in the main entrance?” he asked, slowing his pace, seeing no one around.

“They are in the research area, except McCree and doctor Ziegler.”

“Hm.” He stood there for a few seconds, considering where he could go not to face anyone when the AI spoke again.

“McCree is not in the main area if that is what concerns you,” she said in a soft voice, surprising him. “He is actually getting drunk in the training room, in case you want to avoid him.”

He frowned at the device in his hand, before raising his eyes up to where Athena’s camera was, its light flickering at him. “Why is he getting drunk?” a nasty feeling suddenly spreading in his chest.

“I suppose the fact of learning his old friends were still alive, the confrontation in his room, and missing his arm for two days led him to it,” she explained.

Hanzo widened his eyes. “I beg your pardon?” he said, dread weighting again his stomach. “What do you mean he lost his arm?”

“Quoting him, _the dragons must have fried something_.” She kept talking but he couldn’t hear a thing, his ears muffled with the thrum of his heart overwhelming everything else, the dragons rumbling in distress with the news of what they had done. He caught a part of what they were feeling, regret mostly, since their intention had been protecting him, not hurting the gunslinger.

He knew he had to do something. He needed to apologize to Jesse. Maybe go talk to Angela and cover the costs of a new prosthetic. Apologize to the team for hurting one of his agents.

“Where… where is he again?” he asked.

“In the training room,” Athena repeated.

Nodding he turned around, tapping the phone to cut the communication, dawdling back to the hangar. Whatever the gunslinger really thought about him was no excuse for leaving him without one of his upper extremities, and he needed to amend that. Entering the hangar, he remembered something he had seen one of the previous days. Running towards the crew quarters, he approached the crates they had been moving earlier, trying to remember which one was the one that had what he was looking for.

It took him a while, reordering the crates and opening them to check its content, but he finally found it. He didn’t know whom it belonged to, but among the clothes and personal belongings collected there was an unopened whiskey bottle he thought Jesse could appreciate, kept in an unmarked fancy box. Taking it he closed again the crate, leaving the room to go to the training zone.

He reached it afraid of what he could face inside, nerves running free and weighing in his stomach. He stepped inside, holding the bottle with his two hands against his chest, the door sliding silently behind him. He didn’t see McCree anywhere, so he walked cautiously towards the shooting area, where he saw one of the hatches the dummies came through was open. Going closer he found a space area where the dummies stood motionless, a further door open leading to a wide corridor. Walking by silently, he saw maintenance material and metal plates piled at the sides, probably left by Torbjörn when he had been working to repair the area. At the other end of the corridor he could see part of a room, a window open over a small sink on the left, and a small table where McCree was sitting at.

Hanzo stopped before reaching the door, his heart clenching in his chest at the sight. The gunslinger was lost in his thoughts, his eyes unfocused in the tumbler half filled with liquor in front of him, the fingers of his flesh hand playing with the rim and making the liquid dance inside, the left sleeve of his shirt empty and folded to hide his amputated arm. It was unsettling seeing him so quiet and pensive when he was usually so vibrant and full of life, his body slouched in the plastic chair he was occupying, the corners of his mouth pulled down. Hanzo was so used to seeing him smiling and joking around that watching him in such mood put a knot in his throat.

Breathing deeply and gathering some courage, his dragons purring in his head to support him, he took a step inside.

 

Jesse had been sitting in the maintenance room behind the training area for a while, the salty breeze coming through the window refreshing the room, its brush against his skin helping him to get lost in a trance. He had been drinking slowly but thoroughly, the bottle half empty already, feeling the telltale of a light tipsiness clouding the torrent of thoughts running through his mind.

He almost threw the glass and the bottle out of the surface with a panicked jerk when an obscured figure appeared in his range of vision, placing a black box in front of him and bowing.

“Hanzo?” he asked, his heart pounding in his chest like crazy.

“I offer my most sincere apologies for the harm I had caused you,” the archer said, bent in such a deep angle that his own back ached in sympathy. His tipsy mind was so focused on the fluffy bun of hair in front of him and the golden scarf tying it he didn’t register what Hanzo was saying until a few seconds passed.

“Wait, what?” he asked, confused.

“I will do whatever it takes to repair the damage caused. I will pay the reparations needed to fix the prosthetic, and whatever other costs I created,” Hanzo continued with a restrained voice.

“Hold your horses, darlin’. First, get up, as much as I like your hair I prefer talkin’ to your face. And my back is hurting only with seeing you so inclined,” he said, watching the other man raising slowly, pointing at the chair in front of him with his hand to make him sit.

When Hanzo sat, his posture rigid and uncomfortable, Jesse asked again. “Why are you apologizin’? I should be the one doin’ so, I was the asshole that put salt in the wound, and I am peskily sorry for that, Hanzo,” he said, putting as much regret and sincerity in his words as he could, frowning confused when the archer shook his head.

“I broke your arm,” he said in a lower voice, Jesse noticing the tightness around his mouth, observing how he dropped his sight to the place his limb was missing before looking away, averting his gaze and not meeting his eyes. “My dragons--”

“They defended you. And it was slumpy before that, I should have gone to Angela earlier. I needed a replacement anyway,” Jesse insisted, waving his hand as if he could dissipate Hanzo’s worries with it, watching him deepen his frown. Wanting to distract him from the clear dark place his mind was putting him in, he pointed at the box. “What’s that?”

Hanzo looked at it, surprised as if he had forgotten, soon pushing it in his direction. “A gift. For you,” he said, cheeks lightly flushed.

“Aw, a gift?” Jesse grabbed it, opening the cover to find an expensive bottle of whiskey laying in a soft and shiny piece of cloth. “Woah,” he whispered, widening his eyes. “Hanzo you shouldn’t--” he started, looking up at him.

“I found it in one of the boxes we put in the crew quarters. I thought you could enjoy it.” Jesse knew it was a delicate moment there, both wanting to amend the situation between them, but damn if Hanzo didn’t look cute with his face reddened with shyness.

“And you thought of me? Aw, darlin’,” he said, touching his heart to lighten Hanzo’s mood. “Thanks,” he murmured with a soft smile, taking the bottle out of its box. “Bring a couple of glasses from there, would ya’?” he said, pointing at the cabinet behind the archer, grinning at how fast he moved to do so. “We must celebrate.”  
  
“Celebrate what?” Hanzo asked, putting the glasses in front of him.

“That we fixed our problem, sugar plum,” Jesse said, holding the bottle between his thighs and opening it, the sweet smell of it reaching his nose and making him hum. He served carefully both glasses, before adding, “I am really sorry for what I said, Hanzo.” He looked at him in the eye, the archer finally looking back at him with a guarded face. “I tend to lose my temper when I’m mad as a March hare, which, y’know, it’s kinda the basic concept of being angry, but that ain’t excuse. I was an asshole and just spat the nastiest thing that crossed my mind without thinkin’ of the consequences,” he said, moving one glass towards the man in front of him, shaking his head before taking his own glass and gulping its content, making an appreciative sound at the taste.

“May I ask, what made you so angry?” Hanzo asked, sipping his drink at a slower pace than him, delighting in the warm and intense savor of the whiskey filling his mouth.

Jesse sighed, serving himself another drink before answering. “She was my friend. She taught me how to improve my aim, my technique. Taught me… things, y’know. How to be a decent person I s’pose,” he shrugged. “Hell, I even had a crush on her, I’m sure everyone on the base knew,” he chuckled, scratching his beard at the memories. “How couldn’t I, she was a strong, badass woman that put me in place whenever she wanted. I think it was there when I started to flirt with everyone so I’d hide when I had a real crush on someone.”  
  
He was babbling now, he knew it, but he just needed to let it out, and Hanzo was just there, nodding and paying attention, so he just blurted things. “Then I had a crush with Gabe. Oh Lord, that was awful too,” he groaned, his turn to blush. “See, you can’t put a strong, attractive person in front of me and pretend me not falling head over heels for them.” He knew he was walking on ice there, close to confessing what he was starting to feel for the archer, but the alcohol was blurring his judgment and he couldn’t care less.  
  
“He... he saved my life. I was in a gang before I joined Blackwatch, but he gave me an opportunity. Oh, he was an asshole when he wanted to, don’t get me wrong, but he gave me a job, a purpose. And laughed at my jokes. Damn, it seems I have a type after all,” he snorted. “I got over it too. And then she died. And Blackwatch went to hell. The HQ exploited, I lost my arm tryin’ to save Gabe and Jack… no, I didn’t have a crush on him, just clarifyin’ before you ask,” he tried to joke there, satisfied when he saw Hanzo’s mouth twitch.

“And Overwatch was disbanded, I became a bounty hunter, yadda yadda. I still spoke with her daughter, Fareeha. She grew up with us, y’know. She became a nice lady, as beautiful and determined as her mother,” he sighed, drinking from his glass. “I mourned her and learned to live in a world where she existed no more. Where neither of them did. And now, she is here.” He huffed, annoyed. “That is how little she cared for me, not letting me know she was still alive.”  
  
  
Hanzo remained silent, letting the gunslinger pour his mind and his heart out, clearly needing to do it. His own chest tightened at his words, chastising himself for the relief he experienced when, after saying he had a crush on his female partner, he also had one with his boss, only to feel an emotional whiplash when he said he just started to flirt with everyone back then. _He wants a friend, nothing else_ , he thought, drinking a bit more, feeling the burn of the alcohol in his throat.

“That is not what I thought when I saw her earlier,” he said, catching McCree’s attention. “She could not take her eyes off you, cowboy. I do not know the lady, but she looked regretful. Perhaps she had her own reasons to pretend to be dead,” he suggested. “Perhaps you could ask once you have calmed down.”  
  
“You mean when I’m not drunk?”

“That is another way to phrase it, yes,” he nodded, making McCree chuckle.

“Y’know, I noticed you never call me by my name, darlin’,” the gunslinger said, changing the subject. “I am _cowboy_ , or _gunslinger_ , but nothin’ else. You can call me Jesse.”  
  
The offer took Hanzo by surprise, his eyes widening for a second before he could control his face, hearing the dragons rumble happily in his head. The soft smile McCree had while suggesting it struck him harder than he expected, making him think for a second that the offer was more personal than what it really was, a friendly offer to leave their misunderstood behind. He considered it for a moment, gulping down the rest of his drink to gain time, nodding slowly before choosing the less dangerous option. “I can do that, McCree.”  
  
The cowboy just huffed before grinning at him. “Well, that’s somethin’ at least, I’ll take it,” his eyes shining and his cheeks red, probably for the alcohol he had consumed, Hanzo’s traitorous heart beating faster in his chest at the sight.

They drank in silence, enjoying their company, when Athena spoke through the speakers. “All systems ready for the rocket launch, it will take place in five minutes. My network should be completely functional within an hour. Please, all agents remain where they are at the moment, cleaning afterward could be a waste of resources.”

“I swear, you spend too much time with her, darlin’. She wasn’t that sassy before you appeared,” Jesse said with a smirk, raising his glass in his direction when he frowned at him.

Hanzo just shook his head, clinking their glasses together. They heard the deafening sound of the rocket blasting off the base a few minutes later, Athena announcing it was safe to move around after that.

Rubbing his face, Jesse closed the bottle, putting it in its box. “Well, I reckon it was enough alcohol and mullin’ for today. We could go grab somethin’ to eat,” he said, wobbling a bit when getting up.

Hanzo left his chair in a second, grabbing him off his shoulders to support him.

“Woah. Yeah, forgot about the center of gravity thing,” McCree said, frowning at his missing limb before a slow grin appeared on his face when he looked down at him. “Do you think I’d use you as support?”

Hanzo was too occupied admiring Jesse’s whiskey colored eyes, never been that close to the man before, when his brain registered his words. “Yes, of course,” he accepted immediately. To help. Because McCree was missing an arm because of him. He frowned when he heard the dragons laughing in his head. _Idiots_ , he thought, feeling a flush creeping up his face, moving to Jesse’s right side and passing his arm over his shoulders before taking the box from the table.

Jesse was surprised for a moment, not expecting Hanzo to actually help him when he had asked jokingly for it. But now having his body pressed against him, he was not about to protest. He looked down at the tattooed arm firmly wrapped around his waist while they walked through the corridor back to the training room.

“Y’know, I want to see them again,” he said, looking at Hanzo and finding him with a raised eyebrow. “The dragons. They were nice when I met them. Ah, tell them I am not mad,” he suggested, nodding.

Hanzo just shook his head, smirking. “They can hear you, McCree. They offer their apologies for what they did, and they would like to meet you any other time as well.”  
  
Damn, his name sounded just so _good_ on the archer’s lips. “Sounds fine to me. I’d love to play with the giant noodles.” he grinned when he felt Hanzo go rigid at his side while leaving the training room.

“Noodles. You called the dragons _noodles_ ,” he deadpanned.

“Giant noodles, darlin’. And well, they are long and thin,” he said, squeezing Hanzo with his arm and snickering at the inexpressive face the archer had while looking at him.

“They retire their offer, and say they will roast you next time.”

Jesse barked a laugh, soon accompanied by Hanzo’s rough one, leaving the hangar behind them.

 

They ambled back to the research area, the lights turned on already since the heaven above the comm tower was painted in dark colors, Jesse playing idly with the gold strain of Hanzo’s hair bow that brushed his hand.

They were talking about what they could grab to eat when they reached the top of the stairs, finding everyone reunited around the holo table, checking Athena’s information.

“This place isn’t secure enough, you have already been attacked,” Jack grunted, his voice showing he had already said it before. “And the United Stations know you are here, after your fight in the museum.” He ignored the sound of protest Lena made. “I’m just saying, while you dialogue with the UN and get permission to operate legally again, we should find a better place in case we need to hide.”

Hanzo felt McCree tensing his muscles against him, tightening his arm around his waist unconsciously in response, the loud huff the gunslinger released catching everyone’s attention to where they were standing.

“Dontcha worry, commander, I’m sure we have a hidden base somewhere around to put at your disposition,” Jesse said, his voice dripping sarcasm.

“McCree, are you drunk?” Genji asked with a raised eyebrow after watching them support each other’s weight.

_Shit. Think fast_ , Jesse thought, not wanting to face the team at that moment. Glancing at the archer at his side he winked at him, hoping he could read his thoughts, before saying, “Yep, I am. And your brother too,” he added, Hanzo following his lead and nodding eagerly, the soft hair of his bun rubbing against his face and spreading goosebumps down his neck.

“And we are hungry. So we will leave, you can continue arguing about secret bases and whatnot,” Hanzo said immediately, tsk-ing at the gunslinger and poking his side with a finger when he plastered his face on top of his head to trap his hair, ignoring his brother’s snort at the sight.

“Yeah, food sounds mighty fine, darlin’,” Jesse mumbled, hauling him towards the stairs to go to the mess hall and not paying attention to whatever the rest of the team was saying and the chuckles that followed them at their retreat. Only when they reached the room they disentangled from each other, laughing again.

It took them a few moments to calm down, Hanzo pushing a giggling McCree onto a chair to go and prepare some sandwiches since they were fast to make, and the gunslinger could eat it on his own without help. They ate in an amicable silence, Hanzo glancing at the man in front of him whenever he didn’t look back, admiring his features and the soft flush on his cheeks.

Jesse observed Hanzo clean the table and what he had used to make their food, watching him stop at his side to help him get up. If he pretended to have fewer reflexes than what he actually had, well, he just wanted to enjoy a bit more the strong, warm body of the archer against him.

He actually accompanied him to his room, putting the whiskey box on his table, before he turned towards him. “Do you need help with anything else?” Hanzo asked with a serious face.

Jesse almost suggested that maybe he could get help with his clothes but he reconsidered it, not wanting to ruin so soon the nice ambient they had enjoyed the whole afternoon. “Nah, dontcha worry, darlin’,” he said, waving his hand. “I can handle myself for the night.”  
  
“Did the doctor say when you could get the new prosthetic?” the archer insisted. “I can assist you in the meantime. I suppose they will not assign you any work around the base, but I was thinking about food and dressing.” He really seemed concerned with it, and Jesse only wanted to reassure him even if the offer about the clothes was too tempting.

“Sweetheart, I appreciate it, really. It ain’t the first time I had to go around without it, I’m just out of practice. Lemme tell ya what we can do. I’ll call you if I need help the next couple of days until my new and snazzy arm arrives, whatcha think? I already have your number,” he said, smiling when the archer nodded after a few seconds and relaxed his posture.

“All right. I will let you rest then,” Hanzo said, moving towards the door, stopping when Jesse called him.

“Hey,” he said, relishing in the eagerness the archer looked back with. “Just, thanks. For the nice evenin’, for listenin’, and, well, the whiskey was a fine touch. Maybe we could share a drink any other time,” he offered, trying to hide the hope in his voice, smiling when Hanzo nodded.

“I would like that, yes,” Hanzo said, the corners of his mouth twitching up shily, before leaving the room

Jesse sprawled onto his bed as soon as the door closed, the smile still lingering to his lips, his fingers reaching his face to where Hanzo’s soft hair had brushed against, missing the touch and craving for more. He allowed the yearning feeling bloom in his chest, warmth and contentment filling him when he contemplated that, if the way the archer had plastered against him was any indicator, perhaps was not as one-sided as he expected.

 

A couple of hours later, after reading some of the old reports his brother had given him so he could learn better about Overwatch and showering when he got tired of it, Hanzo laid in bed, a lingering effect of the alcohol shared with McCree still making him feel light in his head and bubbly in his chest. He had left his window open, letting the ocean breeze refresh the room.

He was lazily sprawled under the covers, his eyes half closed remembering what had happened the afternoon. He was glad he and the gunslinger had amended the stupid mistake he committed when he had pushed him away and broke his arm, falling back easily into their habit of bickering and flirting. He didn’t pay attention when the dragons, knowing what he was thinking, purred in his head.

There, in the solitude of his room, he allowed himself to delight in the hopeless feeling that was starting to thrive in his chest against his better judgment, saying aloud what he couldn’t when the cowboy requested it earlier, rolling the sound in the tip of his tongue. “Jesse,” he whispered, his heart fluttering in his chest when he moved to lie on his side, a soft smile spreading across his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, when I said I wanted to write a slow burn I didn't expect it to come out this SLOW <.< but hey, the drone was finally launched! no more crates! xD
> 
> May I say I'm looooving the teasing, the pining they are finally starting to feel for each other! and I am the one writting it! I just hope you have fun reading it as well :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans are made, Jesse gets his prosthetic, and the dragons explain some interesting things.

Hanzo was starting to suffer the warmth of the impending summer, sweat on his forehead and dampening his _gi_ after his morning exercises and meditation with his brother behind the radar array. He almost hummed with pleasure when the conditioning air of the mess hall brushed against his heated skin, where he found McCree sitting at a table. He had to fight the urge to return the big smile the gunslinger spread on his face when he saw him, nodding at him instead. Still, he couldn’t help himself and roam his eyes over the tight shirt that embraced McCree’s broad chest and the sweatpants that adjusted perfectly around his thick thighs, feeling his face redden even more than it already was, with the sunburn and the exercise.

“Howdy partner! You look like a lobster,” Jesse grinned.

He rolled his eyes at him, going to the kitchen. “Did you have breakfast already?”  
  
“Naw, I was waitin’ for ya.” The words made his heart stutter before he remembered the reason. _He is missing an arm_. “And I have somethin’ for you!”

Looking over his shoulder after preparing the coffee machine and putting water to boil for his tea, he saw McCree waving a plastic bottle in his hand. Raising an eyebrow, he approached him, curious.

“I noticed you burned your face yesterday,” he said, showing him the sunscreen. “Here the sun is pretty brutal, darlin’, and you are kinda pale. So, here,” he offered the bottle.

Hanzo took it, pleasantly surprised. “I did not think you could use this kind of thing,” he recognized, looking at McCree.

“Why? Because of the way I look? Kinda judgy, dontcha think?” he said in a mocking tone, shrugging. “I thought you could use it. I got burned once and it stung for days, and to make it worse I turned into a lizard. I learned my lesson, always protect yerself. And moisture,” he added, winking.

Hanzo felt ashamed for falling in the easy mistake of judging McCree’s appearance, the soft reprimand painting his face with a blush. “You are right. I am sorry, it was wrong on my behalf to judge you, whether or not based on your appearance. A mistake I will correct, although I appreciate your consideration,” he bowed his head, watching the gunslinger wave his hand at him to diminish it with an amused smile on his face. “I will get the breakfast ready. Is there something you would prefer?”

“Nah,some toasts with the coffee will be perfect, sweetheart.”  
  
“All right.”  
  
Hanzo put the bottle in one of his pockets, going to prepare the toasts for both and his own tea. It didn’t take long until he placed everything on the table, sitting in front of McCree.

Jesse observed Hanzo eat for a few moments, before he asked, “Aren’t ya a lil’ bit hot with those clothes?” pointing with his chin at his dark, weighty-looking attire.

The archer glared at him, sipping his tea. “Are you going to suggest me taking them off again?”  
  
“Only if it works, darlin’.” The eye roll Hanzo threw at him was worth it.  
  
After swallowing the bite of toast he was eating, Hanzo answered. “A little. I did not pack as much as I desired, but my brother offered to go buy some things, I may remember him of that later. I just hope…”

“What?” Jesse arched an eyebrow when Hanzo stopped talking and just wrinkled his nose. _Cute_.

“He wanted to go to the barber. Or, a hairdresser? Something about dying his hair.”  
  
“Aw, are you afraid he’ll want to do somethin’ to you too?” he chuckled.

Hanzo just sighed, resigned. “I will endure the torture if I get something fresher to dress on.”  
  
“That’s the spirit, sugar,” Jesse laughed, freezing when he saw Ana standing at the door, the archer spinning around in his chair as if he expected to find an enemy.

Hanzo watched Ana squeeze her hands, looking at them nervously. He glanced at McCree, his brows knitted and no trace of the smile he had just a second ago, before addressing the woman. “Good morning, captain Amari. May I serve a coffee for you?”

“I haven’t been captain in a long time, it’s just Ana,” she said, shaking her head. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, I just wanted…”

Hanzo looked again at Jesse arching a brow in a silent question, watching the gunslinger sigh after a moment, dropping his shoulders and nodding only once.

“I will check the others,” he said, adding in a whisper “you can call me if you need me,” preening a little when the cowboy looked at him and smiled softly.

He collected the empty dishes to put them in the dishwasher, bowing shortly at Ana before leaving the room, not entirely convinced of leaving McCree alone, but still hoping he could solve his problem with his friend.

Jesse saw Hanzo walk out of the mess hall, tempted to follow him and avoid the emotionally tiring talk he was about to have. Breathing, he focused on the woman that sat in front of him, expecting the worst.  
  
  


* * *

  
It hadn’t been as bad as he expected, hearing Ana explain her reasons to stay hidden and cut contact with everyone, the feeling of being a failure something painfully familiar to him. She had only contacted her daughter from time to time to let her know how she was, always from a different, untraceable device that was destroyed before receiving an answer. Which explained why she didn’t know about his arm at least.

She had summarized for him the past day meeting, explaining what they have told to the others: how she found Jack was alive and had looked for him, learning herself how he dragged himself out the HQ through the tunnels of the sewage system despite his injuries, believing Gabe had died, and how he didn’t contact anyone, mostly for the same reasons as her. Jesse found out that, since he didn’t receive immediate medical care, Jack had lost part of his sight, his eyes debilitated and his face scarred for the explosion, having to always use his visor to help him in his job. Jesse recognized the news made him feel sorry for the ex-commander, though he was still pissed with him.

Walking towards Winston’s office he just wanted to go back to his room and faceplant in his bed. Two days in a row of going through an emotional rollercoaster was enough to leave him drained of any energy he’d have. They had agreed to just let it flow, see where their past relationship would develop with the new circumstances. He didn’t blame her, though the long years of worry, bitterness, and mourning still hurt. He didn't know how long it’d take for him to get over it, but what he was sure about one thing: he was happy for having her back.

Everyone was already in the room, surrounding Winston’s desk where himself was sitting at. He saw Jack, reading something on his pad without his visor, noticing how he squeezed his eyes to do it. Sighing at that, Jesse took his time to walk behind everyone and stop beside Hanzo, who raised an eyebrow at him. The concern the archer showed touched him, raising stupid butterflies in his stomach. Ignoring the feeling he just threw his arm around Hanzo’s shoulders in a reckless, brave move, and smiling to himself when he didn’t reject the touch but pressed against his side.

Hanzo ignored the wolfish grin on his brother’s face when he saw them, having Jesse perched around him and playing idly with the golden straw of his scarf, focusing on the safest choice of paying attention to Jack instead.

“We have various subjects to discuss this morning, but, what I consider an important matter before we start is,” he stopped, staring at Hanzo with a slight frown, Jesse tensing at his side, “if we can trust you, Shimada Hanzo.”

“Oi,” grunted Lena, followed by an outraged Genji.

“My brother is here because I asked him to!”

“That means nothing to me. I only know that he tried to murder his own kin, and he was very close to being successful. How do I know he won’t try again?”

“That was a low blow, Jack,” Torbjörn grunted, Winston nodding from his place in his desk, disappointed.

Hanzo remained silent, crossing his arms and frowning at the commander, McCree squeezing his shoulder. “Son of a gun,” he heard the gunslinger murmur to himself.

“He did what he did because he was ordered to, not because he wanted,” Genji growled, innervated.

“Did you even ask him what had he been up to this past years? He could try to finish what he started for all you know.”

Lena had to physically restrain Genji when he stepped towards Jack, fury tensing his body. Jesse sighed, having enough of that.

“I did.” He tried to ignore how Hanzo flinched at his side, everyone else looking at him with widened eyes. “What? Do you think I forgot how to do my job?” he said with a raised eyebrow. “Basic Blackwatch procedures, y’all. Always check your contact’s back history, your enemies profiles, the field you’re goin’ to fight on…” Looking down at the archer, he added, “I didn’t know anythin’ about ya, darlin’, I needed to be sure who Genji was bringin’ with him.”

Hanzo pinned his dark eyes on him for a moment before nodding slowly. “I understand. It could have been reckless on your part not doing so. You could have asked me directly though. I have nothing to hide,” a light disappointment must have shown through his posture though, because Jesse squeezed his shoulder again, as in an apology.  
  
“I can always check them with you, I found some interestin’ things,” he said, a toothy grin wide on his face.

“Hm. I am pretty sure you did not find them all. You could have asked about them already.” Now it was Hanzo’s turn to smirk.

“You two. Cut the crap,” Jack asked, resigned.  
  
“Hey, if I had found somethin’ to worry about, do you think I could be huggin’ an assassin ninja right now?” Jesse looked around, feigning innocence.

“Actually, yes,” Ana said, a tentative smile on her lips, Jesse sputtering mock offended.

“Ha, right, _that_ mission,” Lena giggled, relaxing her hold on Genji, who only snorted.

“Woah there, I didn’t know that sweet blonde was the agent we were lookin’ for! I worked with what Moira told me… which, now, explains a lot. That fuckin’ crazy redhead.”  
  
Hanzo saw how the rest of the group frowned at the mentioned name, not recognizing it from what he knew of Overwatch from the news or the archives Genji had given him, his brother signaling with his hands he could explain later when he raised a confused eyebrow in his direction.

“Y’know, I didn’t become Gabe’s second just for my pretty face. Though I’m sure that helped a lot,” he heard Genji groan. “You are pretty too, sweetheart, dontcha worry. Thing is, he is good and clear. He just has a resting bitch fac— _ouch_ ,” he chuckled when Hanzo stabbed his elbow in his side.

“Alright!” Jack threw his hands up the air, giving up, the others laughing when the atmosphere in the room relaxed. “He needs to be tested though, we need to confirm his skills and assets,” he said, looking pensive.

“He received a better training than myself,” Genji stated. “Mostly because he paid attention. Close combat, light weapons, short and long range. Though he prefer his bow,” he shrugged. “He could be behind you the whole day and you couldn’t notice.”

Jack looked at Hanzo again, evaluating him.

“You mean he can be _more_ silent?” Lena asked, surprised. Hanzo had scared her more than once when he had encountered her around the base, the pilot blinking in the air to put some distance between them before she recognized him.

Hanzo was astonished, even if he kept his emotionless face in place hearing Lena and Genji chattering about his skills, Jack saying he could come up with something to check them. He had expected Genji to defend him but not everyone else, considering he had kept to himself most of the time since he had arrived. He felt touched by their gesture, warm filling his chest. Knowing the gunslinger had investigated his activities of the past years only bothered him for a second, the step a cautious one given the situation, been now more curious about his role as second to the Blackwatch commander. He should have been really good if he had reached such position.

A chill run up his spine when Jesse pressed his face against his hair like the night before, whispering lewdly, “Now I need to know your dirty secrets, darlin’. You can’t tell such a thing and let a man in the dark.”  
  
“We will see,” he whispered back, enjoying having the gunslinger pressed against him a bit too much for his sake. He reprimanded himself, blaming the solitude of the past years for his touch starvation and the confused feelings he was developing, hoping that maybe getting used to McCree’s being so touchy-feely could help him before it got out of hand. Still, he couldn’t help plastering his side against the warm, big body of the gunslinger before he returned his attention to Jack.

“Yesterday I said this place wasn’t safe enough. And thanks to McCree’s suggestion,” Jesse grunted at him, still perched up over Hanzo, “we found a place. Torbjörn did, actually.” He motioned at the man to explain, moving so he could reach the pad on the desk and tap something, the screen changing to a map location and several small windows displaying some info.

“So, a history lesson first, fellas,” Torbjörn said. “Back in the day, during the Omnic Crisis, I used to work for this company, SST Laboratories. You might know it because it developed the automaton known as Bastion. With my help, I have to say,” sounding not so proud of that. “Anyway, the Omnics took control, almost blew us up, the company went to hell after that, we won, yadda yadda. The important thing here is, they built some hidden laboratories to investigate who knows what shit, play with a new type of AI or something, I dunno.” He tapped on his pad, a flashing point appearing on the map. “Athena helped me find the one I heard off before I left the company, thanks to the satellite sent up yesterday. She has checked the network and there is nothing about it written anywhere, so I suppose no one knows about it. We’d have to take a look at the installations ourselves, tho she has scanned the area and seems empty so far. Which is understandable, given the place,” he doubted for a second, looking at Jack and Ana before continuing, “it’s in the Black Forest.”

Hanzo heard Lena inhale and look at Ana, whose shoulders tensed for a second. Torbjörn nodded before finishing his explanation. “Yeah, it’s relatively close to Eichenwalde, so no one will interrupt us. If we fix the Orca and take it with us it’d be easy to jump either to Stuttgart or Switzerland, though we will have to be careful not to be detected. Perhaps Winston can improve the stealth system, Lena and I can work to fix the motor, so she could fly it.” He moved back to his place, muttering to himself about what could be needed to be replaced in the shuttle that hung on the hangar, Lena herself nodding with enthusiasm.

Hanzo frowned, not understanding the tense moment when the Black Forest was mentioned. “I recognize that name, a great battle took place there during the Omnic Crisis. It remained abandoned as far as I understand, no?”

“Yes, that’s why it plays in our favor,” Ana explained. “Eichenwalde was the hometown of a dear friend. He belonged to the soldiers’ group that defended the place, the Crusaders. He lost a lot of comrades there, so now us using a base situated so close to that place feels… almost wrong,” she sighed. “I assume he didn’t answer to Winston’s call.”

“Nah, that stubborn old ass decided to ignore it and travel around with my daughter. When he tires of that he’ll come, don’t worry,” Torbjörn shrugged.

“Hopefully sooner rather than later, we could use their help if we have to adapt the base. Which I’m sure we will, install security measures, give Athena’s access, and new servers, of course, establish a perimeter… it’s going to take a while,” Winston nodded, tapping into his terminal.

“It’s going to be a busy summer, but it needs to be done,” Jack confirmed. “Now, the last thing to discuss.” Tapping in his pad, the screen changed again, showing the blueprints of a device now. “A few weeks ago one of the subsidiary fabrics of the company one of my most trusted contacts works for was infiltrated, an EMP generator stolen from one of the storage units among other things.”

“Wait a sec,” interrupted McCree. “Out of curiosity, your contact is not, by chance, Pharah, right?” he said, his tone indicating he knew the answer already.

Jack glanced at Ana, who nodded, before answering. “Yes, she is. She kept silence because I asked her to.”

“Pff, of course. I’ll have to have a friendly chit chat with her,” he scowled. “That daughter of yours is a menace,” he said at Ana, who only rolled her eyes at him.

Jack rubbed his face before continuing with his report. “As I was saying, he company kept it in the dark to avoid any bad press, but... Pharah found it very suspicious, so she warned me about it and both have kept an extra eye on that, scanning the net and the news, and asking my other contacts to inform me about anything odd, which happened early this morning.” besides the EMP blueprint appeared a map of London. “They suspect Talon is preparing an attack in King’s Row, London, taking advantage of the omnic tensions there to blow up their underground city. And if you thought that was worrying enough, we have this.”

The promo poster of a concert appeared on the screen, announcing that all tickets had been sold in record time, the date marked for only a few days later.

“ _Synaesthesia Auditiva_ ,” read Lena, gasping excitedly. “Oh! Emily and I wanted to go, but the tickets were sold in just a few hours! That’s the DJ that led the rebellion in Rio against Vishkar Corporation like, two years ago. Wait, the place is close to King’s Row, with all that people going around, that would be a massacre!” horror and outrage replaced her excitement. “We have to stop the attack, but Overwatch is still under vigilance, how are we going to do that?”

“Goin’ undercover, darlin’,” Jesse said straightening his back. “And I know exactly how.”

Hanzo looked up at him when McCree tried to push him a step in front of him, wiggling his eyebrows. _I know who you worked for_.

Sighing, he obliged. “I might be of help with that. I know Lúcio, I could contact him and warn him, he might even help us.”

“Wait, what?” Genji gaped, Lena smiling excited at his side.

“I worked for him a while ago. As a bodyguard.”

“Woah. Repeat that. You… _worked_?” his brother mocked him, earning a scowl.

“Yes, brother. I have the weird habit of liking hot water, a bed to sleep, and eating food,” he deadpanned, McCree’s chuckling at his side and Genji rolling his eyes at him.

“We don’t have time to run a field check, prepare an undercover profile for you, and expect that DJ believes your warning,” Jack said, frowning.

“Lúcio will help, I am sure of that,” Hanzo reassured with a nod.

“Then we go as civilians. Lena lives in London, she and her girlfriend could have invited us to spend some time with them. We just happen to be ex-Overwatch agents in the right place, at the right time,” Jesse shrugged.

“Hmm, that could work,” murmured Jack, crossing his arms with a pensive face. “Athena, please, start scanning the surroundings, the news, the network, look for any suspicious activity, calls, messages. You know the drill.”  
  
“May I use my established protocols for this kind of mission? Even if it is not legal?”  
  
“Yes. Just, be careful. Hide, erase, and encrypt all trace you can. There can’t be anything that indicates it was planned.”  
  
“That is not how you used to work, Jack,” said Angela.

“A lot of things had changed,” he shrugged. “We only need a decent excuse to justify his presence with the team,” he said, pointing at Hanzo.

“He and his brother made amends, Genji introduced him to his old friends, said he knew the DJ, and we end up there,” stated Jesse with ease.

“We? You are not going like that,” Jack pointed at his missing arm.

“The hell I won’t. Angie already ordered the replacement, I can prepare the strategies with Athena’s intel until it arrives; we travel to London, save people, kick some Talon asses, easy peasy.”

“You will have to test it,” Jack frowned.

“No, I won’t. Just plug it in, and ready to go.” Hanzo could feel McCree becoming tenser with the argument, his hand tight on his shoulder.

“Well, I don’t think I can trust an agent going on a mission that takes that little care about himself.”

“Oh, really? And who the hell do you think is at fault for this?” Jesse grunted, disentangling himself from Hanzo and raising his left arm.

“Alright, enough!” Ana yelled with a deep frown on her face, Jack looking at Jesse with widened eyes.

“What do you mean?” he asked, astonished.

“I didn’t lose it because I was reckless, you smeghead. I tried to save your sorry asses when the HQ went to hell. All for nothin’, since you both survived,” Jesse scowled, opening his mouth to continue when he felt Hanzo placing a hand on the lower of his back, trying to placate and comfort him. Breathing hard through his nose, he said instead, “I’m goin’ whether or not you like it. I’m your best chance here, Jack. I’m trained to do this kind of mission even with my eyes closed. You need me, and you know it.”

“He is right, Jack,” Ana stopped him raising a hand in a calm gesture. “It is not the right time for us to announce we are still alive, and the others are trained to work on an open field. We need someone used to become invisible even in the middle of the day, and Gabriel,” she hesitated when she mentioned his name, “Gabriel always said he was one of his best agents. _“Jesse is the expert of gleaning information through social engineering and other tactical maneuvers. Even if he insists on wearing that ridiculous hat,_ ” if I remember correctly,” she mock imitated her friend, Jesse grunting a bit when everyone else chuckled at that.

Winston cleared his throat, interrupting them. “I hate to be the one bringing it up, but, if everything works fine, we could use the publicity, bring the matter to the UN” he said, scrunching his nose like the mere thought of taking advantage of the situation troubled him.

Hanzo glanced at his brother, a silent message exchanged between them. Genji nodded reassuringly, before he spoke. “I can see the advantage of that, and I recognize that I could have taken that decision with no further thought in the past if that reported any benefit for my cause. But,” he considered his words for a moment, “I am no longer that man,” he said, noticing how his brother was looking at him now with a proud grin on his face. “I hope that is not the only goal of this organization. If you want to get legalized again for the greater good, I will gladly help. If you only want to get recognition from the public…”

To his surprise, it was Angela the one who agreed first, although he could see McCree at his side nodding.

“He is right,” she stated. “We made mistakes in the past. If we want to work again and protect the people, we can’t start our first mission with hidden objectives. We can finish this, and instead of pushing ourselves onto the UN’s, let the public decide if they want us. The important matter is to destroy that EMP device, let our actions speak for themselves,” she nodded.

“I can work with that,” Jesse agreed, the rest of the team assenting.

Jack mulled the idea for a moment until he sighed and dropped his shoulders. “You are right. If we want to do this, we need to stay clear. Get to work with the same ideals Overwatch started, not let them rot and twist. We need to trust each other.”

Straightening his back, he looked at Jesse. “I owe you an apology, McCree. And my thanks, for trying to save me at a great cost for yourself. I know you don’t think I deserve this chance, but I promise to give my best to make it work. The world needs us once again, and we will work together, with no secrets or undercover branches, to protect them. Maybe we would defeat Talon for good this time. And maybe,” his frown deepened, a shadow of sadness blurring his eyes for a second before adding, “maybe we can figure out what happened to Gabe.”

Lena nodded, “Yes, Jack, of course. If they brainwashed him, or, I dunno, whatever they did, we will find it. And we will bring him home,” she said fiercely.

“Alright then,” Winston said. “Hanzo, could you please contact Mr. dos Santos and explain the situation? I’ll start planning the travel, buying tickets, establishing safe routes, and such.”

Hanzo nodded at that, the rest of the team chattering before going to take care of their tasks, the meeting clearly over. “I must warn Emily then!” said Lena before blinking in the air and disappearing, leaving a trail of light behind her.

“Hey, I got an idea,” murmured McCree at his side. “Come find me when you’re done, I think I can help with your test,” he grinned.

“All right,” the archer said, his curiosity picked, before leaving the office to go to his room and retrieve his personal phone, thinking what to say to Lúcio after all that time.  


* * *

  
Almost two hours later, Hanzo finished the call with Lúcio. He had actually woke him up, the DJ being busy preparing the concert and working too long at night. But he had seemed glad when he recognized who was calling, immediately switching from only voice to a video-call. He had agreed to help them, promising to keep it quiet not to bust their mission, and to talk with his staff to give them access to the concert zone in case it was needed.

Hanzo considered for a second the stupid idea that had been mulling in the back of his head since he heard Jesse in the meeting, before tapping again on his comm to call for the AI. “Athena?”

“Yes, agent Shimada?”

He sighed. “What did I tell you about that?”

“Not to call you “agent Hanzo”, which I didn’t.” He heard the joking tone in her voice.

He stood silent for a second before he snorted. _Perfect, outsmarted by the AI_.

“What can I do for you, Hanzo?” she asked, sounding satisfied.

“I was wondering if I could have access to pictures from when my brother was here last time.” He flinched mentally for using Genji as an excuse, but he was curious since McCree had talked about his job in Overwatch, and he could kill two birds anyway. “Blackwatch, I mean. He gave me some unclassified reports to understand how the organization worked, but I am interested in something more personal.”

“I could look for something, yes,” the AI informed.

“Maybe who he worked with? I understand if you deny access to restricted data, but…” he left the question unfinished on purpose.

“Team pictures. Non-classified. For bonding purposes,” she stated, clearly not buying the reasons behind the request.

“Yes,” he said innocently.

After a few seconds of silence, she agreed, “Alright. I’ll send them to your personal comm, Hanzo.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

Cutting the call, he released the air he had been holding, ignoring the dragons chuckling at his expense, and sending a message to McCree to know his position.

His comm chirped a moment later, a picture showing McCree’s long legs crossed at the ankles, the ball off the radar array on the left, and the blue sea in front of him. Rolling his eyes, he left his room to find him.

Leaving the building, he enjoyed the salty breeze refreshing his skin, reaching the radar and taking up the stairs, finding McCree sitting in the shadows and smoking one of his cigarillos.

Hanzo sat at his side, grabbing curious the black box the gunslinger offered him. Opening it, he found two rows of small, almost invisible squares.

“Location trackers,” Jesse said, smirking when Hanzo raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you’d use them for your test with Jack. They start emittin’ the signal as soon as they are on the designated person, I already told Athena to mark Jack and keep the record for you,” he explained. “You only have to use your ninja powers, and show him later.”

Hanzo looked down at the small chips, before raising his sight again. “So, I put them on him, no matter the place?” Jesse nodded. “And Athena records it with her cameras?” another nod. “Hm, that might work. Thanks,” he said, McCree waving his hand.

“Not a problem. Besides, if we are leavin’ soon to London we have to practice all we can. As soon as I get my arm back we’ve to go to the trainin’ room, partner. Get all sweaty together,” he winked, earning a snort from the archer.

Feeling brave, he deadpanned, “It could be my pleasure to put you on your knees.”

“Oh, Lord,” McCree guffawed, throwing back his head, Hanzo chuckling with him.

“I do not get how this is a practice for you too,” he said when Jesse calmed down.

“Oh, I’ll be your alibi to go around, darlin’. If he gets suspicious, you’ll only be around helpin’ poor ol’ Jesse,” he grinned, putting out his cigarillo. “We can walk around the base, check the maps of the area in the meantime and do some actual work of course, even go with Lena to the trainin’ room so you two get used to each other. And whenever you can, do your magic.”

“Better start now, then,” Hanzo said getting up, offering his hand to McCree to help him.

“Eager. I like that,” Jesse joked, grabbing his hand and shuddering when their palms touched, the archer’s hand enticingly pale against his. “After you, darlin’,” he motioned at Hanzo to go first, grinning at himself and admiring the view of the archer’s wide back moving delectably in front of him while descending the stairs.  
  


* * *

  
Jack was sitting at one of the tables in the mess hall, chatting with Lena, when Jesse and Hanzo approached.

“Howdy,” Jesse said, sitting with a big grin on his face, Hanzo handing Jack a datapad.

“What’s this?” he asked with a raised eyebrow, taking the device.

“My test,” Hanzo stated, sitting in front of Jesse, sounding pleased with himself.

“Your--” Jack didn’t finish the phrase, tapping the screen and reading a list of when the trackers were activated, a pic showing the red dots placed on his own body, and a list of videos.

Astonished, he reviewed each one of them, Lena looking over his shoulder and giggling surprised, watching with him how, along the day, Hanzo had placed them without his notice.

“So that’s what you have been doing the whole day! I thought it was weird finding you both everywhere after our training,” she laughed.

Surprise painting his face, he looked up at the archer when he finished. “That was impressive,” he said, raising one of his arms and finding, thanks to the pic, where the tracker was located. “I didn’t notice it, what the hell.”

Hanzo glanced at Jesse, smirking. “The key is having ninja powers, as I have been told.”

“Well, blending within the civilians will be easy for you too. You did a fantastic job, Hanzo,” Jack recognized, nodding at him.

“Oh, here you are!” Angela called from the door, getting their attention. “Jesse, I received a package that might be interesting for you,” she said with a sweet smile.

“Woah, really?” Jesse got up fast, going to the doctor and planting a sonorous kiss on her cheek, making her laugh. “You’re da best, Angie! Can I get it now?” he said eagerly.

“Yes, yes you can,” she laughed, pushing him back to stop him from kissing her. “Come with me to the med bay, and stop it!”

Jesse looked back, finding Hanzo had moved to the kitchen to serve himself dinner with his back at him, feeling a bit deflated for not being able to talk to him. _Later. With some whiskey to celebrate_ , he thought, following the doctor.

  
Hanzo, sitting back at the table to eat, felt ashamed while trying to comprehend the unfamiliar bite of jealousy that uncurled on his stomach at the display of affection Jesse had with the doctor.

Finishing his dinner and cleaning after himself, he decided to take a walk to think, hoping the fresh air of the night could help. He took the stairs of the research area, walking towards the exterior and soon stopping behind the comm tower, the sound of the waves against the rocks in front of him quieting the messy thoughts in his mind.

He sat on a patch of grass, not minding the wetness against his pants, just focused on his breathing and the surrounding calmness. Hanzo closed his eyes, decided to put a stop on his ruminations. _McCree is friendly with everyone_ , he said to himself, feeling the dragons stir in his mind, paying attention. _That is a fact, we know that_ , he thought, including them in his ratiocinations.

 _He is friendly, and flirty, and touchy-feely with his friends. And I should be grateful that he considers me worthy of such behavior._ He untied the scarf off his hair, letting it fall over his shoulders, soothing the pressure he was feeling on his head. _I am just confused. I am not used to it, that is all_ , he said, trying to convince himself.

 _Are you sure?_ , the dragons murmured with their deep voice, making him frown.

Opening his eyes, he felt them vibrate on his left arm. A bright, blue light surrounded him when he let the dragons leave their confinement of his skin. _Yes. he is a good friend, I should not bother him with my mixed feelings,_ he stated, the dragons looking down at him. _I have been too long on my own, it is my own fault being this confused._

He got up to his feet, looking at them in the eye. _You like him_ , he thought, remembering their behavior in the training room.

 _Yes, we consider him worth it, like our brethren does_ , they said, twisting around each other in the air. _And he brings you peace._

Hanzo sighed at that. _Yes, he does. Who would have thought the noisy cowboy could be such a nice company,_ he thought, shaking his head. _If friendship is what he offers, then I am satisfied with that. I will be_ , he corrected himself. _We have Genji back, that is what matters_ , he said, a small smile lifting his lips. _And we did well today_ , he added, feeling proud of having surprised the commander with his skills.

 _We came here to help, to assist people. An honorable goal_ . The dragons rumbled in agreement. _I can not change my past, but perhaps I can change my future_ , he said, raising his hands toward the spirits, touching their whiskers and feeling their energy vibrate against his palms, hopeful for the first time in a long time.

 _Perhaps I can fix your tattoo as well,_ he thought, glancing at the colored skin that peeked out the left sleeve. _And make you whole again_.

 _We are already whole,_ they said, startling him.

 _What do you mean? You are split,_ he frowned.

 _We were never one, Hanzo. Only your mark was_ , they said, sounding amused.

Hanzo let his hands fall at his side, astonished. _Explain that_.

 _We were never one,_ they repeated _. You were marked with only one dragon because your Elders were ignorant. Your design has nothing to do with our power._

 _But, it is broken_ , he said, confused. _I broke you!_

_No, you didn’t._

Anger was starting to fill his chest now. _Why did you not explain this earlier?_

 _You never asked_ . They blinked at him, Hanzo gaping at their calmness. _The magic that was infused on your skin is what broke that night, your own mind fighting against itself. You are who cut us off from you. Guilt and self-loathing were a heavy weight on your soul, Hanzo. Still are. But only now you are fighting against them, so we came to you._ They twirled their bodies around him, poking at him with their noses.

Hanzo was silent, trying to assimilate what the spirits had said, looking down at the dull colors of his tattoo. _I didn’t break you?_ They shook their heads, their whiskers caressing his arms. _I did this to myself_.

 _Like you said, you can not change your past, but you can give form to your future,_ they said, courage filling their double voice. _What will it be?_

Hanzo looked up at them, wisdom and something else making their eyes shine when they looked down at him. He snorted. _I never thought you could be such assholes, hiding that information_.

 _A match made in heavens then, you can be pretty dense too,_ they chuckled.

 _Hm. let’s see what Genji thinks about my giant noodles and their secrets_. He couldn’t help the bark of laugh that escaped his mouth at their infuriated grunts when he used Jesse’s pet name for them.

  


Jesse used his brand-new prosthetic to light a cigarillo as soon as he finished in the med bay, Angela having explained the new improvements she had added. It moved smoother than the previous one, the software and connectors that allowed him to _feel_ like it was actual skin and not metal was more sensitive than the old one as well. He’d need to be used to it, but for now, he was satisfied.

Puffing out a cloud of smoke, he descended the stairs of the research area, stopping in his tracks when he saw behind the building in front of him a blue light moving slowly up and down.

Curious, he went to the left of the building, slow and careful to not scare whoever, or whatever was behind it. Kneeling on the ground and peeking off the corner, he almost dropped his cigarillo when he opened his mouth in a silent gasp, watching Hanzo touching and murmuring something unintelligible to his dragons, his hair a dark curtain falling over his shoulders.

His heart skipped a beat in his chest at the sight. It wasn’t the giant, shiny dragons dancing together in the air what stole his breath. It was the bright smile that adorned Hanzo’s face while being surrounded by the spirits what illuminated the night.

 _Dear Lord, I’m screwed_ , he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me longer than expected to write this chapter. I had to check, and recheck, and check again just to be extra sure, the OW wikipedia to take notes about the characters, their past, new locations and a lot of boring things, to come up with a decent story. Still, if you find something odd, let me know so I can fix it!
> 
> I keep writting Jack like he is an asshole, but I really like him! I just don't know how to approach him to be a person in charge without been a meanie, ugh.
> 
> And yes, even if Jesse is a bit disaster with his clothes and his hair, I think he could take care of his skin the same way he does with his gun, hence the sunscreen. Even if he ends up smoking and drinking. He knows what he is doing I guess xD


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Genji and Hanzo talk a bit more, go shopping, and McCree does not freak out.

The morning exercises and meditation had left Hanzo drained of the excess of energy that fueled the straining thoughts in his head, helping him lock them down in the back of his mind. Drying after his shower, determination filled him, falling in the well-learned habits since he was a kid while he was dressing up.

He traced a plan with the same ease he tied the obi around his waist, the infused behavior patterns too familiar to him. _Wear a mask, never let your rival what you are thinking_ . McCree was not his rival, but removing himself from the situation before it could bring him any harm was a self-defense mechanism burned in his mind. _Show none weakness, or whoever has the knowledge will have the power to tear you down_.

He was sure the gunslinger wouldn’t hurt him on purpose, but the risk was already there. Since it was him the one to blame, it was his responsibility to avoid any chance that could jeopardize them. Hanzo was determined to not let his blooming feelings interfere with their friendship and camaraderie. He could allow himself to _have fun_ like his brother had told him, but nothing else.

He grabbed his pad to contact his brother asking when he could be ready to go to town when it beeped with an incoming message. Opening it, he found several image files attached, the pictures he had asked Athena the previous day.

Unsure, he opened the first one. A smile spread on his face when he saw a younger Lena sitting on what could only be Jesse’s shoulders, his face hidden behind the black hat that Lena was pushing over him with a big grin adorning her face.

The next image made Hanzo blush against his will. Grinning his best-lopsided smile, Jesse was flexing his arms, a stretched grey tank top showing his fit and muscled figure, a shorter version of his actual haircut framing his face, his beard trimmed and shaved differently. Hanzo roamed his eyes over him, amused with his show off pose and his flirting face, something he had kept to the present day.

He had been so focused on Jesse he hadn’t noticed the dark figure behind him, looming in the verge of the picture, but when he did, he felt his heart stop in his chest, all fun and lust forgotten. Sitting on a crate, sharpening his blade, was Genji, looking way different to what he was used now. His dark armor didn’t cover his left arm, where he could see the scars he had inflicted upon his body, red tubes coming off his helmet that connected to his neck, making him look rough, unfinished. The soulless, furious eyes of his brother, with a glint of red tinting his pupils, looked straight at whoever took the picture, freezing Hanzo in his place and making his stomach clench with the unsettling thought that he looked more _machine_ than human.

Brushing his thumb over the screen, he reviewed fast a few more pictures, the ones where his brother appeared showing him always in the back of the group, apart, the cowboy in the front. The one where he stopped showed McCree in what must had been his Blackwatch armor, something he could have enjoyed lingering at any other moment. Commander Gabriel Reyes was grinning beside him, wearing a grey camo uniform, a belt full of grenades and two big shotguns; and an unknown, unsmiling redhead that he assumed was the one the team had frowned the previous day standing close, the analytical glare and the studied pose of her body to seem as innocuous as possible sending a shiver down his spine. He found Genji in the back of the picture near a shuttle, ignoring everything, with his arms crossed.

He couldn’t match the idea that Genji, always smiling and joking, that had looked for him to make him join Overwatch, that had _forgiven_ him, was the same that looked so dark and vengeful in the pictures. _Because of him_ , the familiar sentiment of regret and self-hate invading his mind before the dragons chased it away with a growl.

Hanzo frowned, grateful that the spirits had interrupted his trail of thoughts, but taking note to talk about it with Genji. He turned off the device, his eager to check the rest of the pictures forgotten, grabbing his bow and leaving the room towards the kitchen to find his brother.

 

Genji was the only occupant of the mess hall when he entered it, the smell of a recently made pot of coffee filling the air, a pan with scrambled eggs keeping its warmth in the kitchen. Hanzo stopped at the door, looking at him until he noticed his presence.

“Hanzo? Are you alright?” Genji asked, concerned.

Instead of answering he approached him, Genji raising an eyebrow when he carefully grabbed his left arm and pushed up the sleeve of the soft grey shirt he was wearing to reveal his skin. Hanzo traced delicately the faded, rounded scars of his forearm with the pad of his thumb, tightening his lips into a thin line, pained.

He raised his eyes to look at his brother, who just let him touch him, unafraid and trusting, like if he hadn’t tried to _murder_ him and wasn’t responsible for the scars that adorned his body. Shaking lightly, Hanzo raised a hand to move the collar of his shirt to the side, revealing more faded scars on his clavicles and near the metallic plaques that covered the back of his neck down his spine. He realized only then that he hadn’t noticed them when he had seen his brother half naked just because he had focused only in his back, never seeing him up front, the thought sending a wave of anxiety and regret through his chest.

Hanzo froze when Genji grabbed his hand and squeezed it, worry painting his scarred face. “Hanzo?” he asked again.

Hanzo looked at him, ashamed of what his brother could read on his face, knowing he had not the right to be the one feeling _pain_. “I saw some pictures, from when you were here. In Blackwatch,” he said, squeezing the hand that he still had on his brother’s arm.

“Ah,” he said, quiet for a moment. “How did you find them?”

“I asked Athena.”

“Hm.” He remained silent again, long enough to make Hanzo think he would not get a better answer. “Yeah, that wasn’t my best time, I recognize.”

“You seemed… furious.” Hanzo wasn’t sure if that was a question or a statement, finally releasing his brother’s arm and taking a step back.

“I was, _oniichan_ ,” Genji said with a sad tone, sighing. “I hated everything and everyone. I hated my body, so much, that I didn’t let Angela to improve the prosthetics and the connectors to make my life easier. I wanted to remind everyone what I was, make them as uncomfortable as I felt.” He shook his head, “I was a pain in the ass, I’m sure,” he added with a chuckle. “Eventually I figured I couldn’t live that way, so I left. I wandered around the world, and found my master. He helped me reconcile with myself, and thanks to him, and the regenerative treatments Angela had been using for the scars and some new, less protuberant metal parts I am the handsome man that you see with your very own eyes,” he preened, earning a snort from his brother. “Besides, you don’t know how difficult was to sleep with all the cables, now I sleep like a baby,” he grinned, trying to ease the moment.

“There will not be a day I do not regret what I did, Genji. And I do not think I will ever repay that debt,” Hanzo murmured, sitting at the table feeling emotionally drained, not sure how his next words could be received, but needing to say them anyway. “My life is in your hands, _ototo_ ,” he said, hearing the small gasp that escaped his brother’s mouth when he used the old, familiar name and seeing him sit in front of him out the corner of his eye. “I just. I guess it does not matter how many times you say you have forgiven me. Sometimes it is hard to understand, to _accept_ ,” he recognized, looking up.

Genji shook his head slowly, a sad smile on his face. “That is something we will have to work on, until you don’t question it anymore. Although,” he said, “maybe next time you decide to have a sad moment, you could wait until we have had breakfast. Now you ruined my appetite. Asshole,” he protested without heat, Hanzo lowering his head to hide the soft smile that wanted to fight his dark mood by spreading on his face.

“Perhaps I can improve that. The spirits spoke to me yesterday,” Hanzo said, relaxing his posture crossing his arms on the table, looking pleased when Genji pulled a curious face. “They said… they said the Elders had been wrong the whole time. That they were always two. I did not break them,” he whispered the last part, still not believing it.

“Woah, really?” Genji said, excited. “But that is awesome! How didn’t they notice, though?”

“The dragons took turns to appear when summoned,” he explained, Genji raising an eyebrow, the aforementioned chuckling in his head making him roll his eyes.

“Let me guess. They are laughing.”  
  
“Yes.”

Genji kept silent for a few seconds before snorting. “Who could have imagined the mighty spirits could be such assholes.”

“Indeed,” Hanzo agreed.

“But, what about the tattoo?”

“It seems your master was right. That was my fault, trying to please two allegiances and failing at both,” Hanzo frowned, looking down at the dull color of the tattoo that peaked out of the sleeve of his gi. “It is on me to find how to amend it.”

“Didn’t they say how to?” Genji asked, bending over.

“No. I assume it is something different and more difficult that swearing my loyalty to, I do not know. Overwatch. Or you,” he said, sounding puzzled.

“I told you already, you owe me nothing,” Genji protested. “Well, yes, you do. Breakfast. And new clothes, I’m tired of seeing you wandering around with _that_ ,” he mocked, pointing at his gi and hakama, snorting at his brother’s scowl.

“Then we better go early to the city, I still have to talk with McCree and Lena about London, and prepare my equipment,” he said, getting up and going to the kitchen to gather something to eat.

“Hey, Hanzo,” Genji called, smiling, Hanzo looking over his shoulder while preparing the tea. “Resting bitch face and all, I like having you here.” He laughed at his brother’s glare unimpressed, missing the small smile on Hanzo’s face that he hid when he turned back to what he was doing.

 

* * *

 

Jesse was _not_ freaking out, he thought while leaving his room and stomping on his way to the kitchen where he found Lena.

“Morning, love!” she chirped, waving at him.

“Mornin’,” he muttered, looking around before going to the coffee pot.

“If you are looking for Hanzo, he left with Genji already, he will meet us later in the training room,” she explained, guessing correctly what he had looked for.

McCree did _not_ feel guilty when he relaxed at her words. Nope. Like if he needed time to plan what to do when he faced Hanzo after the revelation he had experienced last night, what were you talking about.

“You seem twitchy today, Jesse.”

Well, McCree did definitely jump when Ana, appearing out of nothing, spoke at his side, chucking to herself when he frowned at her.

“Geez, lady, put a bell on your neck, do you want to kill me?” he said, clutching at his chest.

“Aw, Jesse, still my favorite drama queen,” she tutted mockingly, patting his face with affection.

“Yeah, whatever. I’m still waitin’ for my tiara,” he grumbled, going back to his breakfast.

“So, what are you younglings doing today?” she said, sitting with Lena.

“Ah, we need to plan the travel to London, cap! And we will train with Hanzo when he comes back,” Lena explained, immediately going on an unstoppable chit chat with Ana that Jesse ignored.

 _What the hell, Jesse_ , he thought, trying to distract himself putting some bread on the toaster and filling his cup of coffee. _It had only been a few days, DAYS, you bastard_. He frowned at himself, disappointed. Did he find Hanzo attractive? Duh, of course, anyone with eyes could see how he looked, anyone with ears could know how the man, despite his habit to keep to himself and avoid everyone as much as he could, had a dry and sarcastic sense of humor that only improved how appealing Jesse found him.

Did he pretend for it to go further than a friendly flirt? Hell, no. So, _how_ did it happen? And why? Precisely now, that after he witnessed an intimate moment with his brother and their dragons he had earned Hanzo’s trust to open up to him and joke back. Damn, he could even _touch_ him with Jesse not ending up murdered in a corner of the base, and he fucked it up developing a damn crush. _In days_.

He sat at the same table as Lena and Ana, feeling the invisible cloud of his dark mood weighting on his shoulders. No, he would a gentleman, a good _friend_ , and ignore whatever he felt. Hanzo had enough on his plate reconnecting with his brother, learning to work with a bunch of new people, to have to deal with Jesse’s bullshit.

 _You’re an expert in goin’ undercover, cowboy. So, fake it as you always do_ , he thought, focusing on his breakfast and mentally planning his day.

 

* * *

 

After three hours of being dragged from store to store where his brother used him as his personal dummy (“no, I will NOT wear a neon green shirt to my meeting with Lúcio, Genji”, “well, then you are NOT buying a hoodie with a damn dragon printed, Hanzo”), Hanzo ended up with a decent amount of clothes already packed in a duffel bag. Shirts, pants, hoodies, jackets, even new pajamas and underwear thanks to Genji’s insistence. He had agreed to buy a different color than the blues and greys he had picked when his brother mocked him, deciding to go for something out of his comfort zone

Genji remembered how picky he was with his clothes, pushing him into a laundromat to wash everything and sending him to the service to change as soon as they dried. Leaving the store, Hanzo caught his reflection in the glass of one of the windows of the street they were walking by, checking how different he looked with the dark red shirt and one of the cargo pants he had bought, comfy boots replacing his _tabi_ , his old outfit safe in one bag. If he had chosen that particular color for any other reason than how nicely it suited him and the contrast it did with his tattoo, he kept it to himself.

He glanced discreetly at the bag crossed over his back that Genji and he found in a sports store, where his bow and arrows fitted perfectly to carry them around without alerting the civilians. He even found a new pair of gloves, perfect to protect his hands in a fight and use his weapon. Following his brother, Hanzo realized he didn’t just look different. He _felt_ different. For the first time in a while he was showing his tattooed arm, and he didn’t mind. Surrounded by tourists and the citizens of Gibraltar, where nobody knew him, his spirits, or about him and his brother, he was only a stranger that happened to wear a colorful tattoo, shopping like everybody else, the anonymity of it a freedom he welcomed with a thirst he didn’t know he had.

He followed Genji lost in his thoughts, not paying enough attention to where they were going, which was a new state for him, always aware of his surroundings and the people around him. Not like he was reckless, but he walked relaxed and not analyzing every person, the threats they could represent to him, or planning escape routes just in case.

So when he entered the store his brother had gone in and looked around he took a few seconds to identify where they were, raising his eyebrows at Genji.

“Told you I wanted a new hair!” he said, grinning, before going to talk to one of the hairdressers of the place.

Hanzo let him talk, observing more carefully the place. It was actually nice, a small reception on the left, a few empty chairs at his right against the window and three working stations for the hairdressers, a whole wall of exposed bricks with a few paintings as decoration. Hanzo liked it, minimalistic and clean, a soft background music coming from the speakers he saw hanging close to the ceiling.

One of the hairdressers approached him, a small, professional smile on her face.

“Good morning. Your brother said you wanted a haircut, do you know what do you want to do?” she asked.

 _What do I want?_ Hanzo thought, a little frown appearing between his eyebrows. He had already changed his whole wardrobe, could he take a step further and change his hair too? He hadn’t had a proper cut in ages; himself taking care of it however he could. It was just a haircut, but he felt it was something bigger, a further step to leave his past behind, to start anew.

“If you are unsure, we have this awesome software that lets you check different styles to see how you’d look,” she said when he remained silent for too long. She walked towards the reception where a screen came back to life when it sensed their proximity. “See, it scans your image and analyze your face structure so it can suggest the styles that would suit you better. Touching here,” she tapped over a few icons, “You can check them,” she said, moving apart to let him space.

Hanzo placed his bags on the floor, looking at his image on the screen. “May I have a moment to decide?” he asked, still wondering if he could be able to do it, to _change_.

“Of course! Let me know when you are ready,” she said, walking away.

Once he was alone, or as alone as someone could be in a place like that, Hanzo decided to see how the screen worked, since his brother was already in hands of a hairdresser, having something applied to the ends of his hair. He touched the screen, relieved when he saw that most of the styles the software suggested were not that different of his actual one, just changing the length of his hair or the trim of his beard, until he stopped at one that left him gapping.

It was different to anything he had had before. It was… _edgy_ , that was the perfect word to describe it. He moved his head, seeing his reflection do the same where he could see how the hairstyle looked from all the angles, surprised at how much he liked it, a sudden need surging deep inside him to look, to _be_ that man he was watching. Someone different, without an obscure past in his life and even darker thoughts filling his mind so often.

Checking over his shoulder that the hairdresser that had spoken to him was still busy, he touched the screen to check other options, a suggestion for piercings appearing in the corner. Raising an eyebrow, he selected it, distracting himself with the different choices it offered.

“I think those suits you,” the woman said at his side, surprising him.

He moved again his head, looking how the piercings he had selected matched the hairstyle, excitement expanding on his chest. _Could he? Would he?_

“You think?” he asked.

“Yes! It differs from your actual look,” she said, pointing at the golden hair bow tying his ponytail. “But it gives you a little _something_ , you know?” She smiled, sounding honest. “The piercings are easy to put, we use a biotic gel that basically heals the holes instantly, so you don’t have to worry to clean them for weeks. It was an awesome invention, let me tell you. Some of these were made that way,” she pointed at one of her ears, pierced with several earrings, “and boy did that hurt!”

 _A little something_. The change was not little precisely, but he wanted to do it. Decided, he nodded at her. “All right. I want it,” he said, pointing at the reflection on the screen.

“Fantastic! Follow me, please. I’ll take care of your hair, Rose,” she pointed at one of the girls that waved at them, “Will take care of the piercings.”

The whole process didn’t take more than half an hour, Rose being a nice girl that explained the things she was doing and how the tools worked, like if she had sensed his nervousness. The gel felt cold and tingly against his skin, the sensation on his nose making him scrunch it and making the girls laugh.

“Done! You look amazing,” Rose said, Jules (his hairdresser, as he had learned) nodding enthusiastically at her side.

“Who looks amazing? What did yo… holy shit! Hanzo!” Genji said, approaching them, gaping at him when his brother turned around. “Woah, you look… cool! Who would have thought my older brother could look this nice!” he chuckled when Hanzo rolled his eyes at him, extending his hand and running his fingers over his brother’s undercut. “Hey, but seriously, it suits you, a lot”.

Hanzo felt self-conscious with all the attention he was getting. “And what did you do?” he asked, trying to distract his brother.

“Ah, I cut my hair!” he said, pointing at it. Genji’s black hair was shorter on the sides, not as his own undercut though, and the top of it was styled in a spiky way, the very ends of the long fringe dyed in a green-close-to-teal color. “And the better part is this!” he said, grabbing a flashlight from the station he had been sitting at. Turning it on, Hanzo noticed it was a black light one, Genji pointing it at his hair and making the dye look a neon green under it.

Hanzo looked at him, an idea popping in his mind. Raising an eyebrow, he said with his best deadpan voice. “You look like an abyssal fish,” chuckling satisfied when the girls close to them laughed and his brother gasped at him.

“Thanks, asshole. Here I was, praising your new look, and that’s how you repay me?” Genji said, pretending to be offended.

“It looks nice. As long as you do not carry a black light lantern with you to make your hair shine just because. But it looks nice,” he said, earning a smile.

“Thanks,” Genji grinned, punching him lightly on the arm.

“ It is weirdly discreet and flamboyant at the same time. I actually expected something like what you did back in the day, all green,” Hanzo murmured, touching his nose and finding the new piercing in the bridge.

Genji looked at him, remembering how much he had had to beg his father to get permission to change his hair so drastically. Switching to Japanese. He asked, “ _What would our father think of what we've become, brother_?” pointing at himself with his metallic arm, before doing the same with Hanzo’s new hair and attire.

Hanzo looked at him, thoughtful, before answering. “ _It's hard to say who he'd be more disappointed by_ ,” he said, silent for a few seconds before a chuckle escaped his lips, Genji accompanying him in a beat. It was not like he cared anymore, so many years later after both had left, and destroyed in Genji’s case, the clan.

They gathered their belongings before going to the reception to pay, the hairdressers wishing them a good day and to come back any other time.

They were going back to where they had parked the car when Genji exclaimed “Ah! Chocolates! Wait here for a second,” before he disappeared inside a patisserie.

Suspecting who the chocolates were for and settling to ask his brother about it when he returned from his mission, Hanzo decided to enter the store in front of it, just to glance at the shirts it sold. What he found almost made him bark a laugh, the dragons rumbling happily in his head.

“What did you find?” Genji asked, popping at his side and carrying a new bag with the name of the patisserie on it.

He showed the dark blue shirt he had on his hands instead of answering, his brother laughing freely at the copper-colored logo of a wild, jumping horse printed on it with the phrase “ _ride a horse, save a cowboy_ ” under it.

“Oh my god. Please, buy it, or I will. Jesse needs it in his life, he just doesn’t know yet,” he said, still chuckling.

“Are you sure?” Hanzo asked, internally pleased his brother had given him the perfect excuse to buy the shirt without having to come up with an explanation. “It seems like a heinous attack to fashion.” He pretended to reconsider it, before adding, “Nevermind, it suits the cowboy,” making his brother laugh again.

“It seems like the two of you get along well,” Genji said after they left the store, finally going to the car.

“Hn. McCree is easy to talk to,” Hanzo agreed noncommittally, giving nothing away.

“Yeah, he always got on well with everyone, back when I worked with him. Maybe that helped him blend that well in his undercover jobs,” Genji said in a contemplative tone, before shrugging. “Either way, I’m glad. For both, actually. That man needed to meet his match and keep him distracted, especially now that we found out Ana and Jack are alive and back, and Gabe is… well, Reaper.” He frowned for a second before smiling again. “And you know, Lena likes you too. She was scared at first, but you have grown on her, she is really excited to go on a mission with you. I’m sure it will go well,” Genji added, nodding to himself and unlocking the car with the remote control.

Placing the bags in the trunk, Hanzo remembered he had wanted to ask Genji about the doctor he had seen in the pictures, but, after having such a nice morning with him, and seeing him excited and convinced the mission could go perfectly despite the risks, he decided not to, resolving to ask someone that could have better answers than his brother, given the short time he had worked with Overwatch in the past.

Sitting in the copilot seat, Hanzo felt the easy-going feeling he had until then dissolve, letting space to his usual awareness and planning state of mind. It had been a good morning, a pause on what was happening in the base, but now they were going back, and the reminder of the impending travel to London made him straighten his back and start thinking about his strategies again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I was blocked most of the time, and when I managed to sit and write I ended up with too much and had to cut the chapter in two :/ I was supposed to tell what happened when they returned to the base, but apparently the brothers wanted a chapter for themselves and their bonding (and why would I deny them that??)  
> So, we will learn Jesse's reaction to Hanzo's new look the next chapter :P
> 
> Anyway, wouldn't it be nice the biotic gel was something in real life??


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse finally sees Hanzo, plays with the giantic noodles, and realizes he is actually not a gentleman.

McCree’s morning ended being a productive one, keeping him busy enough to not have time to think about Hanzo. Lena and him had gone over the maps of The Underworld area in London and its surroundings, and the possible escape routes they’d implement for the public attending the concert in case they didn’t manage to find the bomb and turn it off.

Winston had contacted them to let them know the tickets were already bought and the hotel reservation for Jesse and Hanzo done, details sent to their comms. The flight left the next morning so they could have a day and a half to explore the area themselves, prepare any trap or cache they could need to face Talon, and the more obvious, let themselves been seen around _before_ anything happened to support the alibi of “ _a couple of ex-Overwatch agents being around right before a Talon attack is just a coincidence_ ”. Lena helped with the last one suggesting they could go to some pubs with Emily and pretend it was just a friendly reunion to go together to the concert and not an undercover mission.

After a pause to prepare their bags for the next day and have lunch, they decided to have a last training session, in the holo room instead of the shooting range. They hadn’t used it even after Torbjörn had said it was operative, being forced to keep a low profile had discouraged them to train properly as a group.

It was placed under the training room, and Athena could prepare for them a personalized area using a holographic system that could imitate real places, allowing them to train accurately. Jesse didn’t fully understand how it worked, the projectors placing buildings to hide inside or jump on top and enemies to shoot, images that felt real to his hands and weapon but that disappeared when the simulation ended. The only time he dared to ask the AI went into an unfathomable scientific gobbledygook that left him with no other intention to mention it.

Lena was preparing the settings on the terminal to imitate the area close to the Underworld in London while he finished fastening his chaps. “Y’know, it’s been a long time without seein’ Emily. It ain’t the best moment to do so, but damn, it’ll be nice,” he said, grinning before adding, “Maybe I can finally convince her to come with me to live the real, adventurous life, huh?”

“Pff, yeah, you can keep trying, McCree,” she said without heat, tapping on the screen.

“Why? You think I’d not get such a sweet girl myself?” he continued joking,

“Well, you are missing some things she might like, and have some other things she might don’t like,” Lena smirked.

Jesse barked a laugh while he placed the chestplate over his shoulders. “Ah, damn. It’s the beard, ain’t it,” he said, securing the hooks on his sides and hearing the door open.

 

Genji and Hanzo reached the base just in time for a quick lunch, accompanying Ana at her table while devouring the steak and veggies someone had prepared that day, and being told that McCree and Lena were in the arena.

They went to their rooms to drop the bags, Hanzo asking Genji about that room while passing under the comm tower. “I did not know there was a holo arena here,” he said.

“Ah, since we hadn’t been able to go on missions, I suppose training there was a waste of time. But you will see, it’s really cool! Athena can prepare random scenarios or, like I imagine she did, a specific one to help you train and prepare a better attack,” Genji explained while passing the hangar gate, leading him towards a door under the stairs that led to the training room that Hanzo had not paid attention before.

Behind it, a small corridor lead into a last door, a small screen showing the arena was being used. Grinning, Genji touched it to unlock it. Following him, Hanzo extinguished the flick of excitement that dared to burn in his chest and placed his mask on, finding over his brother’s shoulders where Jesse and Lena were.

It was the first time he had seen McCree with his gear on, leather chaps protecting his legs over the jeans he was wearing, a golden chestplate piece covering his trunk and contrasting with the dark green shirt he had chosen that day. The wiggling move he was putting a leather glove with on his hand almost distracted Hanzo of what he said next, managing to keep walking close to his brother with a blank face despite the sour taste they left.

“Well, if such fine lady doesn’t like my beard, of course I could shave it for her,” Jesse said, winking at Lena before turning and looking at the door, his eyes widening and his mouth opening when he saw the Shimadas entering the room.

Genji had done something to his hair, looking shorter on the sides and spikey on top, a tad of green adorning the endings, but Hanzo… _Lord have mercy_ , he thought. Clicking his mouth shut, his brain got stuck in how _edible_ the man looked with the dark red shirt hugging deliciously his strong figure, the piercings adorning his face, and the new undercut he was rocking, appreciating how, regardless of his new clothes and aspect, he kept his stateliness intact. He must have been ogling in silence for too long because the others were looking at him, quickly deciding the safer route was to just act as usual.

“What happened to your pompom?” he said, watching Hanzo raise an eyebrow and Genji mumbling “ _pompon?_ ” to himself. “Your hair! And your scarf! Darlin’, what am I goin’ to distract myself with now that you have no hair?” he groaned dramatically, Lena giggling at his side.

Hanzo looked at him expressionless. “I am sorry I did not consider your needs when I decided to cut _my_ hair, McCree,” he deadpanned, earning a chuckle from his brother. “And I still have hair, it is just tied up.”

“Oh, thank Jesus. But...why?” Jesse insisted, loving the way Hanzo narrowed his eyes pretending to be mad.

“Because it is hot? Because it is comfortable? Because I wanted to?” he said, crossing his arms.

“And the clothes?”

“What about the clothes?”

“You’d cause an accident walkin’ around like that, sweetheart,” he said, pointing at how the short sleeves stretched over his muscles. _And you look too good for my own sanity_ , Jesse thought, raising slyly the corner of his mouth.

Hanzo pulled a lazy smirk while tightening his arms to accentuate the bulkiness, snorting when Jesse took off his hat and pretended to fan himself with a wolfish grin on his face.

Genji caught their attention with an obnoxious coughing, pointing a finger at himself when he succeeded. “Alright, my turn. Tell me now how good I look.”

“I love it!” Lena jumped on her place, clapping. “The green on the ends look amazing.”

“Ah, but that is not the only thing! Athena, do you have black lights here?” he asked.

“I do,” the AI answered.

“Awesome! Could you point one at me?” Genji grin sharpened when Athena complied, Lena gasping an amazed “oohh” when his hair shone in neon green.

Jesse stared at him for a moment, before stating, “You look like an abyssal fish.” He raised an eyebrow at Hanzo when he heard him snort, finding him shaking with a silent laugh and trying to cover his face with a hand.

Genji frowned at them, signing at Athena to turn off the black light. “It is funny, that someone dressed as a cowboy, and someone,” he said pointing at Hanzo, “that had been wearing old-fashioned japanese clothes until a few hours ago think they can even open their mouth and talk about style.”

“I am not laughing at you. I am laughing at him,” Hanzo said taking the bow out of his bag, grinning when he heard McCree’s huff.

“I know. And I maintain my protest,” Genji said rolling his eyes. “My brother said the same thing back in the city,” He explained when he noticed Lena’s confused face.

“Pff, don’t listen to the tasteless old men, love! You look perfect,” she nodded enthusiastically, giggling when Genji agreed with her, nodding. “Are you going to join us? I have the map ready.”  
  
Jesse saw from under the brim of his hat while tying his belts around his hips how Genji glanced at his brother. He was momentarily distracted with how the archer put his gloves on, spotting only then the new leather bracelets he had on his right wrist, still noticing the small, encouraging nod Hanzo gave and the bright smile that simple gesture put in Genji’s face.

“Sure! I’ll help however I can, let me go change into my armor,” he said before running towards the door.

“Whaddaya say if we warm up in the meantime, darlin’?” Jesse asked, loading his gun with a flick of his wrist.

“All right,” Hanzo agreed, joining him in the holographic representation of a London street, leaving Lena taking care of his weapons.

“Y’know, I’ve been wondering, how the hell are we payin’ for the travel and supplies? I’m pretty sure the UN confiscated all the money back when they closed Overwatch,” McCree asked, shooting distractingly at one of the enemies Athena placed for them on the map and failing.

Hanzo raised an eyebrow at him.

“I didn’t fail. I was pre-successful,” deadpanned McCree before shooting again and killing the soldier. “See?”

Hanzo snorted before running towards a wall, climbing it, nocking an arrow and killing another one.

“Boastful,” murmured McCree jokingly when Hanzo jumped down and returned to his side.

”To answer your question, did you not know? Winston and Athena earn money playing cards online,” he said, hearing the surprised gasp the cowboy released.  
  
“Wait, what? How come I never heard of that?” he protested. “Athena! Have you been playin’ cards and didn’t have the consideration to invite me?” he yelled before noticing the shit-eating grin in Hanzo’s face.

“Of course not. It is illegal for an AI to take part, even assist, in that kind of activity,” Athena said through the speakers. “I hacked a few servers we suspected Commander Reyes had used to run and finance a few of his operations. I found hidden data that helped Winston to find some of the well-kept Blackwatch accounts. Since it was related to an alias, and not the organization, we managed to recover it,” she explained.

Jesse saw Hanzo’s usual blank face slip, sure the dumbfounded expression that substituted it matched his own. The archer glanced up, catching Jesse observing him, before both started laughing.

“Damn, I almost prefer your story, partner. It’d have worked amazingly as blackmailin’ material,” Jesse said shaking his head, noticing a couple of soldiers trying to sneak past them on the right side of the building they were surrounding. Feeling a bit playful, he spinned in place, sticking the remaining bullets into their holographic heads with his arm hooked behind his back.

He looked over his shoulder to find Hanzo, frozen in place with an arrow nocked and his bow half-tensed, staring at the dead soldiers with an unreadable expression. Jesse spread a lazy, self-confident grin when Hanzo slowly turned his head to look at him. ****  
  
“That was ridiculous,” Hanzo stated, lowering his bow. “Do it again.”

The grin turned into a proud smile while Jesse reloaded his gun, immediately complying the request. They spent a few more minutes until soft steps behind them interrupted their fun.

“Cheers, loves! The cavalry has arrived!” giggled Lena running past them, leaving a bright trail of light behind her.

“Well, Hanzo,” said Genji unsheathing his sword, voice distorted because of his helmet. “I hope all these years working alone hadn’t rusted your ability to work with other teammates.”

Hanzo rolled his eyes. “I am perfectly capable to adapt, brother. I will cover them from a higher position and warn them of any incoming attack.”

“Sounds reasonable,” his brother nodded. “Let’s see how it goes.”

 

* * *

 

After spending the afternoon training together and getting used to each other tactics and abilities, they ended satisfied with the results. Hanzo had covered Jesse and Lena from above, Athena coming up with harder and smarter enemies trying to send a truck loaded with the EMP bomb into the omnic base. They have developed a few plans to stop them in case they didn’t manage to find the Talon’s base before the concert started.

Lena and Genji had left, the ninja muttering something about some chocolates he had bought, Hanzo deciding to stay to check his arrows and bow in the armory before going to his room to prepare his bag for the next day. It only took two seconds for Jesse to decide to accompany him, even if his weapon and armor had been checked and prepared in the morning --not like Hanzo needed to know that.

Unable to remain silent for too long, the excitement of their impending mission and _something else_ running hot through his veins, Jesse insisted until Hanzo complied and released the dragons, the cowboy _not_ shrieking when they surrounded him in a corner of the armory and tried to steal his hat.

They had worked quietly since then, Hanzo keeping his relaxing posture and his blank face when hearing McCree chuckling and mumbling to himself and the spirits. The noise, surprisingly grounding instead of distracting, allowed him to focus on the task of disassemble his bow to clean and prepare it.

Jesse observed him from where he sat on the floor, the dragons around him and intertwined between them watching him dismantle Peacekeeper, keeping him warm and comfortable. Looking at Hanzo from under the brim of his hat, he let his hands work with the pieces, roaming his eyes over the straight back of the archer sitting in a stool, watching the long, strong fingers taking care of his weapon with the same dedication and practice as himself, becoming absorbed in the task of relearning his new profile, the metallic additions and fresh undercut harmonizing with his sharp cheekbones and regal nose. A thought crossed his mind when he realized Hanzo was not even looking at him, sitting relaxed and letting him on his own with the dragons.

Gulping the sudden knot that had appeared on his throat, Jesse addressed the subject as he always did: hidden in a joke. “Y’know, darlin’, a fella might think you trust ‘em if you let them play unsupervised with your dragon.”

Hanzo glanced over his shoulder, not surprised of the scene he was seeing because the dragons had informed him of everything the cowboy had been doing. Still, his heart skipped a beat in his chest when he saw McCree surrounded by the blue spirits.

“I do,” he recognized, keeping his face inexpressive.

Jesse shot his head up, his startled gaze finding Hanzo calmly looking back at him.

“Trust you. You could not be there if I did not,” Hanzo said, pointing at the dragons around him.

Jesse dropped his gaze, feelling his face burning in the shade of his hat and a smile tugging at his lips.

"Thank you," he said, awkward after the unexpected praise, hearing Hanzo hum as response. He knew the archer trusted him, or he couldn’t have touched him or his dragons so freely, and still the words had left him feeling winded. He ignored it, though. Hanzo was a friend, Jesse reminded himself, he wouldn't fuck it up over a crush.

“That is why I would like to ask you a favor, McCree.”

He looked up again, Hanzo still looking back at him. “Of course, anythin’ for ya,” he winked.

“I would like you to accompany me, if you have time. I have questions, and I need answers.” Hanzo paused for a moment, reorganizing his thoughts, before adding, “I want to talk to Commander Morrison, and having you there will grant me I have the truth, in case he tries to hide it.”

“I’m your Huckleberry, darlin’,” he nodded, serious, feeling the dragons rumble against his chest before disappearing. “Aw, I was havin’ fun with the noodles,” he pouted before getting up to return his tools to their place, holstering his gun in his hip.

“Next time you can try to call them _noodles_ when they are out,” Hanzo suggested, hooking the new bag with his bow and arrows over his shoulder.

“Naw, I like having my right arm in its place,” Jesse said, making Hanzo snort.

 

It didn’t take them long to find Jack. He was in one of the small unused offices close to Winston’s, looking through a smaller window than the main office, his back to the door. A few data pads and a mess of papers were scattered over the table in the center of the room, two empty coffee cups forgotten in the middle, a clear signal the ex-commander had been working accompanied.

“What do you need?” Jack asked, still not turning around.

Hanzo glanced at McCree for a second before closing the door and taking a step towards the table, not letting himself been distracted by the beautiful orange sky reflected on the sea that he could see on the other side of the window. “I knew about Overwatch, before it was closed,” he started, his voice steady and showing nothing. “Its noble ideas, its fight against the oppressors. My brother has told me what he did when he was here, when he worked with Overwatch.” He saw McCree hook his thumbs in the loops of his belts on the corner of his eye in a studied, calming pose, but seeing through his facade the tension on his body and the attention he was putting in his words. “I remember reading and watching the news, five years ago. About a black ops within Overwatch. How it took care of the business the public could be scandalized if they knew about them. Extortion, torture, kidnappings, corruption roting the bases of the organization that swore to protect the world.”

Hanzo observed carefully the man in front of him, who stood in his place like what he was talking about didn’t affect him. Still, he noticed the tightness in his straightened shoulders, and how the hands held together in his back squeezed a bit harder with each word he said.

“And yet, my brother only spoke of the good work he did. The good people he met. The commander he served under. The rest of the team reacted in a very different way than I expected when you announced Commander Gabriel Reyes was still alive. Shocked, of course,” he shook his head, “but strangely relieved. Hopeful, even.”

Jack sighed slowly, turning around to finally look at them. “What is your question?”

“I want to know which Commander Reyes is the real one. I want to know what happened when the headquarters exploded. I need to know, if I am going to put my life, my brother’s life, at risk, that it is for a good cause, and not a bunch of lies.” Hanzo stared at Jack for a moment long enough he thought he would not get an answer, until the ex-Commander dropped his shoulders in a defeated move. The man approached the table, taking off his visor and putting it down before raising his unfocused sight to them. Hanzo looked at him, waiting patiently while Jack collected his thoughts, feeling more than seeing Jesse’s presence at his side.

“Gabriel Reyes was the kind of man that didn’t hesitate to make the hard decisions, if with that he helped people. The first to step onto the battlefield, and the last one to leave it. He was tough with his agents because his job was not easy, but he was always fair with them,” Jack said, his deep voice calm and composed. “All the shit the media threw at the public about how he was envious because they named me Commander over him was a lie. We decided it, together. He was better planning and working in the shadows, doing what was needed to be done, so I could be the public face of the organization, their poster boy,” he almost spat, frowning with disgust.

Hanzo wasn’t sure where the ex-commander were going with his story, but he was paying attention to all the details, creating a tapestry in his mind where all the players were about to appear.

“We had our backs, we trusted each other, we worked together to protect the world. At the end it didn’t matter. He spent a whole year trying to tell me something wasn’t right, and I dismissed it, told him to take care about it on his own. And he did.”

Jack rubbed his face, regret and pain soaking his features. “I was supposed to be there for him, and I didn’t. A shit ton of people that didn’t _matter_ had my attention instead of the one that did. When I got tired of fighting my own unbeatable battle and tried to listen to him it was too late.” Anger replaced the emotions showed in his face. “He had hired Moira O’Deorain, a geneticist rejected by the scientific community for her unethical, dangerous work. She was always at Gabe’s side, managed to earn his confidence. Sometimes he could disappear, and when he’d come back he’d be distant, or, it could take him a few seconds to understand what you were telling him, but I thought it was because of the job, not because she had done something to him: I got reports from Blackwatch informing about how the missions they were sent to went south at some point, like if the information they got wasn’t right; the agents injured, reports going missing. Suddenly there were rumors running around about how Overwatch was involved in nasty, illegal businesses. We didn’t know where they were coming from, but that only allowed the UN and the governments to make my work a living hell.”

“Then, Venice happened,” grunted McCree, breaking his silence.

“Venice happened,” Jack agreed in a dark voice. “The world had their confirmation about Blackwatch, the media talking about how the Commanders were fighting to see who had more right to direct the organization. How Gabe, envious of my success,” he sneered, “released all the dark business he had run in order to discredit Overwatch. Gabe was… is,” he corrected himself, his tone indicating he could not take a rebuttal, “many things. But the most important one is that he was my partner.” The way he said the last word confirmed what Hanzo suspected, and the news back then had gossiped for years: that the two powerful men leading Overwatch were more than just friends, which made the situation more tragic than it already was.

“They tried to paint him like a monster he was not, and still, I did not hear him.” he closed his eyes to recover the composure. “Then we lost Ana. And Reinhardt. The day of the explosion he came to me again, and tried to warn me, _again_ , of his suspicions. Of how sure he was we had infiltrated enemies among our agents, that we had to do something. That _I_ owed him that. I remember he started to mention something about Moira, when… well, everything exploded,” he said, sounding defeated. “When I came back to my senses I couldn’t see a thing, just the orange light from the fires, and smoke blurring everything. I couldn’t find Gabe, he was not at my side any longer. I heard someone approaching my position, but I didn’t know if it was a friend or a foe, and I couldn’t risk it, so I dragged myself towards the first hole I found. The rest, you already heard,” he finished, collecting his visor and putting it over his face.

“I heard while I was recovering that they listed Moira as “missing” the same day, and they found no body. So I guess I’m not wrong to say she was one of the Talon agents that worked from within to destroy Overwatch, convincing Gabriel to experiment on him. Something that led to what he is now,” his raspy voice sounded deeper with the mask on.

Hanzo thought for a moment about what Jack had told them, hearing Jesse bite the cigarillo he had put between his lips. Taking a deep breath, he asked, “You said he did not recognize you when he faced you. Do you think this doctor erased his memory?”

“What a better tool against your enemy than usin’ one of their own?” Jesse grunted, Jack remaining silent.

“You said you wanted to bring Commander Reyes back. If you can not do that, or whatever has been done to him is irreversible, have you considered the outcome?” he said cautiously, knowing what he was asking wasn’t easy, to kill a friend, a partner, someone you loved.

Jack turned his back to them, returning to the same position they found him. “If that time comes, and there is nothing we can do for Gabriel, I will take care of it personally,” he said  with a restrained tone that showed the conversation had ended.

Hanzo bowed his head at him, even if Jack wasn’t looking at him anymore, just to show him his respect. “Thanks for answering my questions. And I hope you do not have to face that worst scenario, commander. I was blessed with the opportunity of having my brother back in my life. I can only wish you the same with your Gabe,” he said, before turning to leave the room with McCree, both missing the way Jack hunched his shoulders with his words.

“I didn’t expect he could answer,” McCree said, taking the cigarillo out of his mouth to put it in his pocket. “I suspected back then Moira was doin’ something, Gabe actin’ all weird after their meetings. But if I have known this, I’d have shot her myself,” he murmured angrily.

Hanzo hummed in agreement, a nagging feeling twisting his guts. Gabriel had turned to someone he thought he could trust to help him fight the corruption within Overwatch, and he ended being a puppet in their hands, hopefully against his will, and only now his old friends and lover had found about it.

“McCree,” he called, the cowboy looking at him. “Did this doctor show any interest in my brother?”

“Huh, yeah,” Jesse frowned. “She always offered her advice to improve him, and now I’m more than glad he refused every time,” he shuddered at the thought. “Who knows what that old hag could have done to him.”

Hanzo knew his brother was somewhere in the base safe and well, but the idea of the mere possibility he wouldn’t if he had accepted that offer, mixed with the memory of seeing him that morning all _unfinished_ in the pictures made his stomach churn, and his heart beat faster in his chest.

“Are you goin’ to have dinner with us?” he heard McCree ask him.

“Ah, maybe later. I need to prepare the rest of my equipment for tomorrow,” he said, suddenly needing to be alone.

McCree said something else, but Hanzo was already leaving towards his room, waving his hand over his shoulder. Typing the code to open his door, he felt sorry for the ex-commander. Finding his lover was still alive was hard enough, discovering he didn’t remember him and was now working for the enemy was a whole different level. He packed the few other things on his bag by reflex, his mind lost in the thought that it could have been him the one in that place, if Genji had accepted. It could have been him killing his brother again, a machine with Genji’s face and no memory of them at all.

The growl of the dragons released him of the trail of thoughts that threatened to bury him, noticing surprised when he raised his head and looked through the window that the sky was already dark. He clearly had lost track of time while packing and cleaning his room, wanting to leave everything tidy up before leaving. His comm had beeped while he was doing so, probably Athena with the information of the hotel they’d be staying and the travel planning, deciding he could check it later.

Grabbing the clothes he wouldn’t take for the travel he opened the wardrobe to put them inside, finding in a corner, behind his other _gi_ , the gourd with sake he had hidden there when he had arrived, decided to leave his drunken nights behind and start anew at the base.

He took it after a few seconds of consideration though. He had enough in his plate with the unwanted crush he was developing for the cowboy, he didn’t want to keep losing himself with the “what ifs” that never happened with his brother. No more mourning, he thought, remembering the moment of clarity he experienced in the morning, when he decided to focus in the positive parts of having a second chance in his life. Hanzo glanced at his reflection in the mirror, still not used to the undercut and the piercings adorning his face. Something to celebrate. Leaving the room again, he avoided the kitchen and the common room wanting to be alone with his thoughts, walking out towards the beach behind the comm tower.

 

Wrapping himself up with one of his larger serapes to avoid the cold of the night, Jesse took out a cigarillo, walking lazily around the comm tower wanting to take a smoke before calling the night. He had had dinner with the rest of the team, which helped distracting him of Hanzo’s absence. Lightning the cigar, he let the smoke fill his mouth before slowly releasing it, looking at his feet puzzled when he stumbled with something.

Frowning, holding the cigarillo between his lips, he kneeled to check what was on the ground, widening his eyes when he found it was a dark red t-shirt he knew very well whom it belonged to.

“Athena, be a doll and send here one of your drones, would ya?” he asked, hearing it flying to him a few moments later, its small LED illuminating his surroundings. “What the hell?” he murmured, getting up and looking around. “Huh, Athena, had been Hanzo around?”

“Yes. He passed by. He went to the beach not long ago,” the AI informed.

“To the beach?” McCree asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes. he was carrying what I suspect was a bottle with alcohol, given his state.”

“Wait, he is drinkin’ alone, at the beach? Athena!” McCree reprimanded, putting off his cigar, taking the shirt and walking fast towards the seashore.

“I kept an eye on him, he is fine.”

“Fine my ass,” Jesse muttered angrily, finding more abandoned pieces of clothing thanks to the drone that accompanied him. He stopped dead in his tracks when he reached the shore, Hanzo’s clothes and boots in his hands, the archer standing motionless with the water covering his waist. Jesse stared at the broad expanse of his muscled back and the silky, black hair that felt free over Hanzo’s shoulders, the light of the moon and the soft reflex of the drone’s led illuminating his silhouette. His very naked silhouette, Jesse noticed, since he had all his clothes in his arms. _Shit_ , he thought, the realization shading his cheeks with red and sending a spark of arousal straight to his groin.

“I can hear you thinking, cowboy,” Hanzo said, dragging the words.

“Damn, and I thought we had left the “cowboy” behind, sweetheart,” he joked. “What are you doing there?”

“Enjoying the view,” the archer said, sliding his hands over the water.

“Huh. I see you had been drinkin’. Whatcha celebratin’?”

Hanzo took some seconds before answering. “Nothing. Everything.”

“Alright,” Jesse frowned, confused. “How ‘bout you come here? It’s getting cold, darlin’,” he said, taking a step towards the shore, stopping when he heard Hanzo giggle.

“You do not want to come closer, cowboy,” he warned, looking at him over his shoulder with a drunken smile on his face. “You do not want to rouse the dragon.”

“Rouse the--” _fuck_ , Jesse thought, the sudden image of Hanzo completely naked in front of him and aroused making the situation in his pants harder to handle. _Ha._

“Alright, then I turn around, and you come out, whaddaya think? Here, take my serape,” he said patiently, putting the clothes on the sand and taking the red blanket off his shoulders. He extended his arm and turned his head back, smiling to himself when, a moment later, a light pull freed it of his hand. He counted mentally up to ten before turning around, finding Hanzo wrapped up like a burrito.

“Hello there, darlin’,” he said smirking.

“Hello.” Damn, why did he have to be that adorable.

“Let’s get you back to your room,” he chuckled, taking the clothes with his metallic arm and passing the flesh one over Hanzo’s shoulder.

It didn’t took them too long to get back to the base, and luckily they found no one on their path. Jesse was sure Hanzo could feel mortified if anyone saw him in his state, naked, tipsy, and plastered against his side. Athena had to open the room’s door for them, Hanzo being busy rubbing his face against his collarbone completely unaware of what he was doing to the cowboy and the situation inside his pants, and unable to focus on the task of typing his code.

“Do you think you can manage from here, darlin’?” Jesse asked after helping Hanzo to sit in his bed, folding the clothes and placing them on the desk before going to the small bathroom to get a glass of water.

“Yes, I think so,” Hanzo murmured, watching the gunslinger put the water in the nightstand, tightening the hold he had on the serape with shame painting his face. “I am sorry you had to deal with me in this situation,” he added, slurring his words.

“Dontcha worry about it, sugar. You better take some rest, we’ll keep your little celebration between us, alright?” Jesse said, waiting until Hanzo nodded before turning around to leave. “G’night then.”

He heard Hanzo’s soft “Good night,” before the door closed behind him, checking he was alone before accommodating himself inside his pants.

Jesse walked fast towards his room, rubbing his face when he was safe inside, trying to calm the throbbing hardon inside his jeans and failing miserably, the image of Hanzo naked under his serape and the way he pushed his face against his neck imprinted in his memory.

“Aw, what the hell. I ain’t no saint anyway,” he grunted before kicking off his boots and unzipping his pants. He could be a gentleman again the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I noticed that, at the rythm I write and what I insist on including in every chapter, Jesse and Hanzo will *do* something in about... seven years :_____D I'll try to resume things!
> 
> And another thing I noticed is the small details I added in this part that somehow clashes with the previous fics. Nothing to worry about, but, for example, I didn't know the dragons could be this chatty, so when I finish Dear future husband I'll do some minor editting to adapt everything :)
> 
> What else... oh, Genji. I only learned that he lost his legs, or where mostly replaced, very recently (with the Retribution event in fact), and after I started writting this fic. So here he's only missing his arm, and well, his back and the middle of his body. Everything else is his own.
> 
> And something funny. I always thought Hanzo's gourd/water bottle had, well, water. So I thought "aw, look at him, all responsible keeping himself hydrated". Then I learned it was actually sake what he carried around and it changed to "aw, but Hanzo! :("


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where they travel to London, share a bed, and their plan doesn't go as planned.

To say that Hanzo felt mortified was an understatement. He could feel the shame and embarrassment of the last night weighing him. By the way he carried himself out of the Heathrow Airport, his imposing presence making the bystander walk out of his way, no one could think the frown on his face was because of his humiliation and not because he was a madman in a hurry.

The light headache he felt pulsing in the back of his head didn’t help either, putting him in a sour and angry mood. Glancing at his side at McCree before straightening his sight he wished, not for the first time since he woke up, that he was gifted with the words like his brother instead of the stupid self-defense mechanism he had developed when he was a child, and maintained over the years, that blocked his thoughts and made harder for him to come up with the right thing to say.

His frown deepened while he looked around trying to find the cab stop when they passed through the exit. He checked again his comm out of reflex even if he knew he had received no message after the ones he had exchanged with Lúcio to plan their meeting.

“How you feelin’, partner?” McCree asked at his side.

“Fine.” Hanzo flinched internally with the unintended sharpness of his voice.

“Are you sure?” he insisted, his closeness intensifying the anger Hanzo was experiencing. “You’ve been even quieter than usual. Do you have a headache? Didn’t take somethin’ for the hangover?”

“Yes, I am excellent,” Hanzo insisted, not looking at him in the eye and trying _not_ to think about how he had rubbed himself against him the previous night.

“I’ve to say, if it worries you, no one else besides me saw you last night, sweetheart. And you did nothin’ besides swimmin’ naked.”

_And rub myself against you because I found you smell delicious_. Hanzo saw from the corner of his eye how McCree’s eyes widened after a moment.

“Sugar, are you ashamed?”

“No.” Damn gunslinger and his shrewdness, the archer thought, feeling his cheeks redden against his will.  
  
“Aw, darlin’!”

Hanzo flinched when Jesse passed his arm around his shoulders and dragged him against his broad chest. He tensed instantly, their position too close to the one they have shared the previous night. “What are you doing.”

“You have nothin’ to be ashamed of,” McCree said, Hanzo feeling the rumble of his voice resonating against him. The gunslinger squeezed him between his arms, pushing his face against his neck where Hanzo found himself surrounded again by his masculine smell, a mixture of the detergent they used in the base, the smoke of his cigarillos, and something warm that belonged only to Jesse. Hanzo squeezed his eyes, heat threatening to rise higher in his cheeks. “You got tipsy, so what? Usually it’s me the one that gets drunk. Next time you’d call me so we can drink in company, whaddaya think? I still have the whiskey you gave me.”

Hanzo sighed, relaxing against McCree’s chest, feeling too comfortable for his own good. “McCree, people are watching us.”

“Don’t care.”

Hanzo huffed. “Of course you don’t,” he mumbled against Jesse, sighing when he felt a warm, calloused hand massaging his tense neck.

“Does it hurt?”

“My head or the massage?”

“Both?” Jesse chuckled.

“The massage is helping with my headache,” he murmured.

“Good.”

_No, no it is not_ , he thought, letting McCree touch him a moment longer before raising his head, finding the man looking back with a roguish smile on his face. “I think we should move,” he said, without separating himself from the gunslinger.

“Because we’re makin’ a scene?”

“And because Lúcio is waiting for us,” he added, not denying Jesse’s statement, missing the heat of his body as soon as he took a step back.

“I have your serape,” he remembered when he grabbed again his bag, glancing at the leather jacket Jesse wore that covered perfectly Peacekeeper and its shoulder holster.

“Ah, you’d have left it back in the base, darlin’, but thanks,” Jesse said with a wink, taking his comm out of his pocket. “So, Lúcio knows we are here already?” he said, tapping the screen.

“Yes, he is waiting for us in a bar close to the stadium,” Hanzo said straightening his back, all softness gone, walking towards the cab’s line he had finally located. “We can go to the hotel when we finish. Which one is it? I did not have time to read Athena’s message.”

Sitting in the first free cab after placing their bags at their feet, Jesse grunted. “Damn this crap, it’s the second time it freezes,” he said, shaking the comm like if that could bring it to life. Hitting softly on its side, the screen turned purple for a second before it opened the link he had tried to check. “Huh, I’d have sworn it was something with _Horse_ in the title,” he frowned. “The Alderworth Hotel, really close to the Underworld and the stadium. That will make our job easier at least. I wonder how Winston and Athena found a free room in the area, bein’ the concert in two days.”

“Maybe she hacked another server,” Hanzo suggested, shrugging.

“Our little AI is gettin’ older,” Jesse said, pretending to clean a tear of his eye and making Hanzo snort before tapping in the console of the cab the address of their destination. “We’ll meet with Lena and Emily in the afternoon,” the cowboy said, looking out of the window. “She left earlier this mornin’, perks of havin’ your own shuttle and permission to pilot into English airspace,” he shrugged, ignoring the views and looking back at Hanzo. “Same with cuttin’ the communication with the base. We are goin’ solo, to avoid any hackin’ from Talon.”

Hanzi nodded. It made sense, after the attack at Gibraltar the last thing they’d want was a hacker managing to. Intercept their encrypted signals and mess with Athena.

“She took the packs of ammo and arrows with her, to place them where we said yesterday.”

“Perfect.”

They remained in a comfortable silence the rest of the travel, the automatic car driving carefully through the streets of London until they reached a dead end, the road cut due to the security measurements around the stadium.

The bar was a couple of streets behind the stadium, the touristic area full of stores and other pubs, multiple posters announcing the concert placed intermittently on the walls. The two of them scanned the area out of habit, tracing escape routes and locating any possible threat while pretending to just be tourists admiring the buildings and the lively area.

Hanzo entered first into the bar, Jesse raising an eyebrow at him when he heard him snort. Shaking his head to diffuse his worry, he approached the furthest booth on the right side, where someone was already sitting with their back against the wall and watching the entrance.

“What are you wearing?” he asked.

The person sitting pretending to be distracted slurping a giant milkshake raised an eyebrow, pointing at his outfit. He was wearing a black hoodie and baggy pants, which would have looked normal if not for the neon green frog printed in the front of the hoodie, the green scarf around his head keeping his dreadlocks tied in place, and the big, mirrored glasses he had covering his eyes.

“I’m undercover, man!” Lúcio said, jumping from his seat and surprising Hanzo with a hug, which given his smaller height left his head at his shoulder. “It’s good to see you again, Hanzo!” he said with a smile, looking at Jesse at their side. “And who’s this handsome fella?”

“It is one of the Overwatch agents working on the mission, Jesse McCree,” he introduced them, seeing how the cowboy put his charming personality to work before the three of them sat to explain their plan.

  
  


“So, is there no way to get them before the concert?” asked Lúcio worriedly.

“No, we’ve been scanning the hell out of the area and we got nothin’,” grunted McCree. “Maybe they are keeping it low until then. Hopefully the little charade of been around, even if pretendin’ to be just for fun, will scare them and make them make a mistake so we find their position, but if not…”

“You must catch them with their hands in the cookie jar. Alright. So I’ll have to play the show while you fight the baddies and hopefully everything works out, but if you contact me I evacuate the stadium,” Lúcio agreed trying to sound cheerful. “Now, if you don’t mind me changing the subject, I need to know what have you been doing, my man!” he said looking at Hanzo. “I never heard of you since you left two years ago when your contract finished. I’d have hired you again but you slipped away,” he tsked at the archer shaking his head. “And how did you join Overwatch?”

“I took other jobs, here and there. Then,” Hanzo doubted for a second. “Then I found my brother was alive. He is the one that asked me to join,” he said.

“Your brother is alive?” Lúcio widened his eyes. “But I thought- I mean, how-”

“We found him, actually. Doc patched him the best she could, ” Jesse said nonchalantly, Hanzo still noticing his surprise about Lúcio’s knowledge of his past. “We weren’t sure about havin’ him,” he pointed a thumb at Hanzo, “but he has grown on us. And has a pretty face,” he chuckled when Hanzo hit him with his elbow.

It didn’t go unnoticed for the archer the knowing, impish grin that spread on Lúcio’s face when he saw how close they actually sat, and how unbothered he was having Jesse messing with him. He just ignored it.

“Huh. Well, I hope things work out with your brother then,” the DJ wished, sounding sincere.

“Ah, yes. He threatened me if I did not bring him back your autograph,” Hanzo said, wrinkling his nose when Lúcio laughed.

“Of course! No problem, especially if you guys are risking your asses.” He grabbed the data pad Hanzo passed him, taking a picture of himself and signing it digitally. “Oh wow, is this your brother?” he exclaimed when he fumbled with the tablet and one of the photos they had taken when they went shopping appeared on the screen.

Hanzo flinched slightly, expecting him to say something about Genji’s scars on his face.

“He is a cutie! You both have the same eyes. Why didn’t he come with you?”

“He has some prosthetics. If the EMP goes off I only lose this,” Jesse explained waving his metallic hand. “But his are more important.”

“Aahh, of course,” Lucio nodded, returning the device.

Lucio’s comm bipped with a new message. “Ah, crap. They noticed my absence, I need to go back to the stadium. Here, don’t forget the passes so you can check around,” he said, pushing the plastic identifiers in their direction before getting up. “If you need anything, or the plan changes, call me.” He waved at them, walking fast toward the exit.

Jesse shook his head. “Well, one thing less to worry about. I didn’t expect him to be so…” he looked at him, shrugging, looking for the right word. “Enthusiastic?”

“He has a catching personality. It can be overwhelming when you are not used to it,” Hanzo explained, following Jesse out of the bar. “He reminded me of Genji, maybe that explains why I got used to it so fast. And I learned a lot when I worked for him,” he said detailing nothing else, missing the puzzled look the cowboy threw at him being busy scanning the street, the sudden memory of their sleepless nights while the musician worked in one of his pieces, tongue and thoughts loose thanks to a bottle of alcohol one of then had found and talking about their past lives and regrets filling his mind for a second.

The walk towards the hotel didn’t take much time, soon reaching the area they have trained in the holo arena back in the base. Leaving behind a small pedestrian street full of apartment buildings, they appeared at the end of the long avenue where the hotel was. The clock tower of the private club on their right announced the hour, the traffic of the double lane almost suffocating it.

They passed by a theater on their way to the pedestrian crossing, the doors closed and the lights turned off until the night show. Hanzo looked warily to the construction close to it, an old church closed to the public, eerily silent, several big signs announcing with bright purple letters that the place was going under reforms. The dragons grumbled in his head, their hackles raising up at the sight.

“You saw somethin’?” murmured McCree when he noticed him paying attention to the church.

“No,” he shook his head, speeding up his steps. “That place just... does not feel right.”

Jesse grinned at him, mockingly, making him snort.

“Some places just have bad energy.” Hanzo hated how defensive his voice sounded in his ears.

“I said nothin’,” retorted McCree, still grinning, when they reached the hotel.

“You said it with your face,” grunted Hanzo, following the cowboy to the reception area and hearing him chuckle.

He glanced around, noticing the nice but minimalist decoration, wanting to give the impression of luxury without being too overwhelming, a holo-screen in a corner announcing the different monuments and touristic places to visit in the area. Hanzo paid vague attention to a purple, flashy ad that recommended the church in the corner, lost in his thoughts. He couldn’t wait to go to his room and relax before their meeting with Lena. A shower and a moment to himself sounded wonderful, especially if it’d help with his still ongoing headache.

“Whaddaya mean there is a mistake?” he heard McCree ask the receptionist.

He got the receptionist attention when he pinned his sight on him, showing his annoyance and a veiled threat with the blankness of his face. He saw the man take a step back.

“I’m really sorry, sir. The reservation at your name is a double bed room, not double bedrooms,” he spoke slowly to differentiate both terms. “It’s the last one available, we have nothing else to switch,” he tried to explain when Hanzo kept his unperturbed glare on him. The dragons chuckled in his head, increasing his annoyance.

“It has a small kitchenette and a sofa in front of the TV. We will offer you a free breakfast as compensation for the trouble. And full access to the mini fridge in your room, no charges,” the receptionist offered, sounding desperate.

Hanzo glanced at McCree, perched on the counter staring at him amused and winking when he caught him looking, before nodding.

“We will take the room,” he accepted, almost snickering when the receptionist sighed relieved.

Jesse took the card-key the man behind the desk offered, trying to conceive with his usual nonchalant behavior the wave of arousal pooling in his lower stomach after watching Hanzo get a better deal for their lodging with just his inexpressive face.

It wasn’t until they reached their floor and entered the room that he truly realized they would have to sleep together.

_Fuck_.

 

The room was indeed big, a small entrance leading to the spacious resting area where the couch and the TV were placed, the kitchenette behind it. On the right side the big, clean bed was almost hidden by the corner of the wall, the door leading to the bathroom on the other side of it.

Jesse stood silent for a second checking the place and scanning it for bugs with his comm, noticing with a flick of jealousy the calmness radiating of the archer when he nodded at him to show him it was all clear.

_Alright. It’s just a bed. I’ve shared beds with partners before. Even hard floors. Easy peasy,_ he thought, relaxing the shoulders and hooking his thumbs in his belt loops.“I want--”

“The right side is mine,” said Hanzo at the same time, narrowing his eyes at him.

“I always sleep facin’ the door, sugar.”  
  
Hanzo crossed his arms after dropping his bag on the floor. “Me too.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everythin’,” winked Jesse.

“My reflexes are better than yours,” retorted the archer.

“And my gun is faster to aim and to shoot than your bow.” Jesse knew he had won when he heard Hanzo snort.

“I have two dragons.”

“I doubt summonin’ them takes less than me shootin’ six bullets into whoever enters the room.”

“Then put it on the nightstand, I will shoot it.”  
  
“Naw, you don’t know how she behaves, darlin’. She has a temperament you’ve to know how to deal with. And she is _big_ ,” Jesse said with a cocky smirk.

Hanzo grinned slowly. “I have dealt with big _weapons_ in the past, cowboy.”

A shiver run down Jesse’s spine with Hanzo’s lower voice. “Oh, yeah? You’ll have to show me your technique then.”

“Hn,” Hanzo glared at him, the grin never leaving his face. “I guess you win this time. I will use your body as a bulwark if someone intrudes.” He chuckled when Jesse clutched his chest.

“You wound me, sweetheart. I thought we had somethin’ special,” he pouted, approaching the bed to drop his bag on it.

“I am sure you will survive,” deadpanned Hanzo, going to the left side to do the same.

Opening his bag he took off the serape he had packed with his clothes, passing it silently to his owner and rolling his eyes at his smug face, finding the plastic bag with the shirt he had bought for the cowboy under it. He glanced at him, tampering the flick of nervous that ignited in his gut, considering for a second keeping it before he put himself in such a risky position.

“I have something else for you,” he said after making up his mind, taking the shirt out of the bag with more force than he intended and giving it to McCree.

The cowboy raised his eyebrow, extending his hand to take the blue piece of clothing. Hanzo saw him widening his eyes before he barked a laugh that shook his body and exposed his long throat.

“Genji and I found it yesterday, he said it could be of your liking,” he said, lowering his head to ruffle with his belongings to hide his smile.

_Liar_ , the dragons whispered, chuckling again at his expense.

“It’s perfect, darlin’,” the cowboy said when his laugh had calmed down, a soft blush covering his grinning cheeks. “I’ll use it later, maybe I’ll be lucky,” he winked. “I just have a question for you,” he added.

Hanzo raised his eyebrows, expectant.

“I hope you don’t snore, sweetheart. I need my beauty sleep.”

He snorted. “I hope _you_ do not snore. I have a light sleep and I tend to attack before asking if I hear something.” He saw Jesse roll his eyes at him this time, like if he thought the risk of an impending death was not something worth worrying about.

“I’ll have a talk with Wilson once we're back tho. Not that I mind spendin’ the night with you, but he’d have warned us about this arrangement,” the cowboy mumbled to himself while taking care of his stuff.

Hanzo hummed noncommittally, seeing out of the corner of his eye how McCree folded carefully his new shirt and placed it on top of his pillow. He put his bag under the bed when he finished emptying it, keeping the backpack with Stormbow and a set of arrows on the bed.

“I’m gonna refresh before we head out to meet with Lena, if you don’t mind,” Jesse asked, a bag with his toiletries and a clean, black shirt on his hands.

“No, go on. I will follow after,” Hanzo said waving his hand, seeing Jesse wink when he passed close to him to go to the bathroom.

Hanzo rubbed his face with his hands when he heard the door close behind the cowboy.

_You are screwed_ , the dragons cackled.

He couldn’t find the strength to refute them.

It didn’t take them long to get ready, Hanzo wearing a clean grey t-shirt under his black bomber jacket. He grabbed the bag with his bow, ready to leave, when he noticed Jesse’s frown.

“What happens?”

The cowboy glanced at him, before clearing his throat. “Couldya make me a favor, sugar? Carry Peacekeeper for me, on your bag? If I wear the shoulder holster and take the jacket off, well, that’d bring some unwanted attention to us,” he explained, interpreting wrong Hanzo’s silent. “Or I can keep the jacket on, dontcha worry.”

“No, I mean, of course I can. I just. You treat that weapon like it is your most valued possession. And you would trust me with it?”

Jesse stared at him, unfazed, before nodding with a serious face. “Yes, I actually do.”

“All right,” Hanzo nodded back. He knew it was only a gun, but somehow it felt more important. Like what he had felt when he told the gunslinger he trusted him with his dragons. “I will keep it safe.”

“I know,” Jesse grinned, giving him the weapon and watching him placing it inside his bag. “Behind you, sweetheart,” he said, waving his hand to point at the door.

_Always so easy_ , he thought, watching the archer walk by his side.

Hanzo stepped towards the door, pausing for a second when a thought popped into his mind, the dragons laughing openly at him. Glancing back at the cowboy with narrowed eyes, he asked, “Are you asking me to go first so that you can stare at my ass?”  
  
Jesse’s grin widened. “I love to watch you go, darlin’.”  
  
Rolling his eyes at him, Hanzo walked away, hiding the blush and the small smile that spread in his face.

 

* * *

 

Emily was not what he had expected, his mind conjuring a woman with a similar personality to the chatty, couldn’t-stay-still pilot. She seemed to be the opposite instead, calm where Lena was agitated, quiet where the brunette was loud. And still, they seemed to complement each other perfectly.

He had been worried about her reaction towards him, assuming Lena would have told her who he was, but she greeted him openly and without hesitation. He noticed her nervousness about the situation though, but he admired her determination to help them.

After a quick meal during which Lena informed them that she had hidden the ammo packs in the roofs of the area around the Underworld, they went to play tourists through the city. They took pics, Emily posting them on her social media, visited a few monuments and bought some mementos.

Hanzo let Jesse take the leading role preferring to fall into a more observant one this time, the gunslinger glueing himself to Lena and following her indefatigable rhythm.

It’s not that he hadn’t believed Ana when she said Jesse was the second best Agent in Blackwatch, but it was different knowing it than _seeing_ it. He knew Jesse was open and charming, but seeing him dragging everyone’s attention with his loudness and contagious laugh was different. He put himself in the spotlight when the four of them wandered from bar to bar, befriended the bartender immediately and making himself notorious, ensuring that everyone could remember their presence.

Hanzo wasn’t sure how much of the show was Jesse and how much the mastered subterfuges of an agent doing his job, but he was impressed. Still, he noticed and admired Jesse’s ability to do it smoothly, talking in a friendly manner and asking around what places should they visit, letting them know they were in London for the concert, inviting them to a drink in gratitude. He smiled to himself when he too noticed Jesse wasn’t actually drinking that much, only pretending to, so he could keep his senses sharpened.

They had barely sat in the third pub in the evening after acquiring their drinks when Lena shrieked. “Jesse! They have a karaoke!”

“Oh, boy,” Emily chuckled at her girlfriend's bounciness, both seeing how the small woman dragged Jesse’s bulkiness to the small stage in the corner.

Hanzo raised an eyebrow, drinking from his glass. He had kept it light, only asking for soft mixes so he couldn’t get drunk, and alternating it with water.

“I guess you know it already, but Lena is very enthusiastic,” Emily smiled softly when he nodded, chuckling. “That doesn’t mean she can actually do everything she gets involved into. I love her, but she can’t sing,” she giggled, waving her hand at Lena when she called her, a few of the customers looking at the couple fiddling with the mikes.

“Lena, sweetheart, I ain’t singin’ _that_ ,” they heard Jesse protest through the speakers, someone chuckling beside Hanzo at the gunslinger’s mortification.

“Of course you are!” she said, tapping something in the screen. “You can pick the next song.”

The cowboy sighed, pretending to be bothered. “If they kick us it’s your fault,” he said, drinking from the beer bottle he had gotten before putting it on a shelf close to him.

“Hey, Emily! It’s our song!” Lena said before the song started.

“Yeah, sorry for ruinin’ it, Emily.” Jesse barked a laugh when Lena stubbed her elbow in his stomach, the music starting to play through the speakers.

Lena definitely couldn’t sing, but she put all her enthusiasm and energy on it. The customers were clearly used to hear bad singers because no one reacted, though some were paying attention.

Hanzo was scanning distractedly the people around the room, drinking from his glass, when Jesse joined Lena to sing the chorus. Emily patted his back to help him with his choking, trying to hide her laugh unsuccessfully. Raising his head to look at the cowboy, he found him dancing with Lena and singing with his best fake, high-pitched voice like it wasn’t the most ridiculous thing he had ever done. In fact it seemed like both actually enjoyed it.

_“You're hot then you're cold, you're yes then you're no, you're in then you're out, you're up then you're down.“_

Lena and Jesse continued singing and dancing with no rhythm whatsoever, Emily humming to herself with an enamored smile on her face.

“That does not sound like a love song,” Hanzo dared to say, confused.

“Ha, yeah. But it’s what we were listening to when we met,” she explained, drinking through her straw, Hanzo humming to let her know he was listening. “We had some friends in common and they introduced us. She was working for Overwatch already, and using the accelerator. I was kinda nervous, she was a famous agent working for the most important organization of the world, and still, she was so normal and bubbly!” she chuckled, a blush reddening her cheeks. “I don’t know if they told you, but I met Jesse when they had to work together doing some classified thing. He looked so imposing with his size and deep voice. Dangerous. But he tipped his hat, kissed my hand, and said he was glad to finally meet me. And look at him!” she said, waving at were the mentioned were finishing their song between giggles.

Hanzo looked at them, noticing how he was not the only one following the gunslinger’s movements, a couple of women at the bar and the bartender were looking at him appreciatively, especially after he had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.

“What about you? Lena insisted you could kill someone even with a straw,” she said dragging closer to her the glass she was holding, pretending to cover her own straw and making him snort, the solo of an electric guitar sounding through the speakers. It still surprised him her acceptance, valuing positively her bravery to be around them. Around him.

“Of course not,” he said, staying silent for a second before adding with a smirk, “It is not pointy enough.”

“Oh, Lord,” she laughed. “Duly noted, keep the pointy things out of the ex-yakuza’s reach.”  


McCree was ready to leave the stage when Lena grabbed his arm, pulling and shaking him excitedly.

"Jesse! It's one of your songs! Let’s sing it together!"

He saw at what she was pointing at, recognizing it immediately as one of the songs he used to sing and hum to himself back in the day when he worked around the Blackwatch headquarters. Jesse wasn’t sure about it, glancing to where Hanzo was sitting at and finding him and Emily laughing together, wasting a couple of seconds to admire how the stretched material of the grey shirt he was wearing hugged and embraced his physique.

He grunted resignedly, rubbing his face with both hands, pretending to be more mortified than he actually was just to keep the charade, hearing Lena giggle at his side.

"I'm not drunk enough for this," he said, reaching for his bottle to drink before grabbing again the mike.  
  


Hanzo shook his head at Emily, the smirk still clinging to his lips when a deep, raspy voice came out of the speakers. Widening his eyes, he listened to Jesse sing an old rock song, Lena singing the chorus and trying to deepen her voice this time.

_“Your mouth, so hot. Your web, I'm caught. Your skin, so wet, Black lace, on sweat.”_

It entranced Hanzo, a wave of heat tensing and warming his body with the image of Jesse and black lace short-circuiting his mind. He observed the room, the number of admirers with their eyes glued to the cowboy increasing, watching him lure the audience with his voice and the patented roguish smile on his face.

“ _I hear you calling and it's needles and pins, I wanna hurt you just to hear you screaming my name, don't want to touch you but you're under my skin, I wanna kiss you but your lips are venomous poison._ ”

“He has a nice voice, doesn’t he?” asked Emily, glancing at him with a knowing smirk.

Hanzo shut his mouth, realizing he had it open, trying to regain the composure and wondering if he had lost the ability to conceal his thoughts out of the sudden. “Ah, yes, I suppose,” he mumbled, drinking from his almost empty glass. “I never heard him before,” he said, the sudden lack of thought in his mind making him nervous.

The dragons chuckled in his ears like they had been doing the whole day.

“Hm. A man with many faces, he is. I suppose with his job he doesn’t trust that easily,” she said cryptically, leaving him puzzled.

_“You're poison running through my veins. You're poison, I don't wanna break these chains. Poison.”_

This time, when Jesse and Lena finished singing, a few customers cheered them, making the two laugh and bow while thanking their claps walking back to their table.

“I think our little spectacle was worth it,” Jesse murmured after drinking a glass of water, signaling the waitress to refill their orders.

Hanzo located who was McCree referring to after a quick, inconspicuous glance around.

“How do you know?” Emily whispered, her eyes wide open.

“The couple sitting on the left of the bar, they are checking something on their phone and looking at them,” explained Hanzo when the waitress that had brought their drinks walked away, looking calm and nonchalant as before. “I guess they identified them, so rumors about ex-Overwatch members will spread fast.”

“And that will make the bad guys appear?”

“We hope so. If we find them before they take out the EMP the night of the concert, it could avoid a lot of unnecessary risks,” Lena said.

“So what do we do now?” Emily asked, nervous and excitement tinting her voice.

“Nothin’. We enjoy our night, and wait for the bad guys to make a mistake,” grinned Jesse, raising his beer for a toast.

 

* * *

 

“Your hair is so soft,” Jesse slurred, scratching softly Hanzo’s undercut and chuckling at the archer’s scrunched nose. “I think I drank too much,” he said, feeling his head light with the tipsiness.

“Really.” Hanzo squeezed the arm around the cowboy’s waist to secure his weight against him.

“Don’t sass me.”

“All right.”

Jesse huffed at him without heat, letting the archer drag him through the streets and alleys towards their hotel.

“I think the jet lag is affectin’ me.”

“What jet lag?” Hanzo chuckled, looking around and finding they were finally close to their destination, seeing the corner of the theater at the end of the street. He stopped when he noticed the metallic fence that blocked the access to the church near it was open, a white van stationed in front of the door, under which he could see some light.

“Hm. Is it not a little late to be working?” he murmured with narrowed eyes, jumping surprised when he felt McCree sniffing his neck. “What are you doing?”

“Y’smell so good.”

“Yes. I am sure the stinking mix of liquor and sweat glued to my clothes is very enticing,” he grunted, suppressing a shiver after the cowboy rubbed his face against his neck.

_Karma_ , the dragons whispered, reminding him he had been the one doing the same the night before.

“Come on, the hotel is just there,” he grunted, carrying McCree with him.

The cowboy made the automatic, unconscious movement of drawing his gun, finding his belt empty, when the screen of the reception detected their movement and turned itself on, running ads again and stopping in the one that showed the church of the corner, the bright purple letters hurting their eyes.

“I have Peacekeeper in my bag,” reminded him Hanzo, tightening his lips in a thin line to suppress the laugh that wanted to escape his chest when he felt the cowboy jump scared.

“I know, darlin’. That damn thing almost gave me a heart attack,” protested McCree, entering the elevator.

Hanzo managed to open the door with the electronic card, helping the cowboy sit on the couch before going to the sink for a glass of water.

“Here. I will go to the bathroom first, you drink that water.”

“Your wish is my command,” winked McCree, earning a roll of eyes as a response.

Hanzo grabbed the sleeveless dark blue shirt and the grey loose pants he had bought to use as pajamas and the bag of toiletries from the nightstand, but even if he didn’t linger in the bathroom that much he stopped surprised at the door when, leaving it, he found the cowboy already laying face up in his side of the bed, his clothes thrown over the sofa and the t-shirt he had given him earlier put on. With no pants, as Hanzo immediately noticed.

“I’m tipsy, darlin’, not completely wasted. You wanted to steal my spot, didn’t ya?” Jesse mumbled side-eyeing him, smiling lazily.

“I would not steal anything,” Hanzo said taking the gunslinger gun out of his back and giving it to him, hearing McCree check the bullets before placing it in the nightstand while he took out his bow and put it on the one on his side.

“Yeah. That's what all thieves say,” Jesse murmured closing his eyes, rolling onto his side and snuggling his pillow.

Hanzo observed him fall asleep in a matter of seconds, frozen in his spot unsure of what to do. He slowly sat in his side of the bed, careful not to disturb McCree, raising up the corner of the duvet to cover himself and straightening carefully the side over the gunslinger.

He laid quietly for a while, hearing Jesse’s deep breath fill the silence. His own tiredness and the lulling rhythm of the cowboy’s respiration made him close his eyes, blocking any thought that tried to remind him that would be the closest he’d be to sleep with McCree.

Checking for the last time there was enough distance between them, so close to the edge of the bed he had the risk of falling, he finally let himself slip into sleep.

 

* * *

 

The early light of the sunrise found its way into the room, a sleepless archer watching the darkness retrieve slowly into the corners. He had slept for a few hours before a heavy arm had felt over his waist and a warm, big body had plastered against his back, awakening him.

He had stiffened before noticing Jesse was still dead to the world, his soft breath caresing the back of his neck.

Hanzo relaxed  after a while, but he didn’t get to fall asleep again. Instead, he laid there with his eyes closed, enjoying against his best judgement the feeling of having McCree unconsciously hugging him, feeling the heavy weight of his arm surrounding him, his thick thigh against the back of his legs, the hard shaft he had been feeling resting against his ass for a while, wondering what would it feel against his skin if there were no clothes between them.

He didn’t mind his right side getting numb after laying for so long on it, treasuring the moment and tampering the guilt that threatened to rise in his chest for taking advantage of McCree without his consent.

Years of training and self-imposed control allowed him to remain relaxed and look asleep when he noticed the cowboy stir behind him, feeling the short thrusts of his hips to rub his hardness against his ass and the almost unnoticeable deep hum Jesse puffed over his neck that he felt vibrating against his back.

Hanzo maintained the charade when McCree suddenly stopped, feeling him stiffen around him when he finally noticed he had been cuddling and rubbing his cock against him. He missed the cowboy’s warmth as soon as he slowly disentangled of his body and left the bed, leaving his skin buzzing with _want_.

He remained in the same position, his lips slightly open as if he was asleep, when he heard Jesse walk around the bed and stop for a moment, wondering what was he doing but not risking opening his eyes to check.

Only when he heard the door of the bathroom close and the shower being turned on he risked doing so, a heavy weight in his chest.

He dressed himself fast and silently, grabbing his bow and his bag before leaving McCree a note saying he was going out for breakfast, walking fast to leave the hotel behind. Like a coward.

The dragons remained silent while he rummaged the dark thoughts in his mind, walking through the empty streets of the area at that early hour of the morning. Of course it had been an unconscious reaction of McCree to hug and grind against him. Hanzo just happened to be in the bed, a bigger, muscled pillow.

And of course Jesse hadn’t continued. Hanzo knew very well their flirtations were just a joke between them even if he was starting to feel differently about it, his memory making the mistake of treasuring the times he made Jesse laugh and grin, his idiotic heart mixing it with an unnecessary, unwanted hope.

Having seen him the last night working and treating strangers with almost the same familiarity he treated him had stung harder than he had expected. Still, his traitorous mind conjured the idea of what would have happened if instead of pretending to sleep, he had turned around and returned the attention. Could have Jesse continued? How far could both had gone? Or could he had still stopped?

Yes, he would have done that. And apologized profusely. And Hanzo could have accepted it, assuring Jesse he understood it to diffuse the situation, and deal with the sting of rejection when he’d be alone. Probably with a bottle of sake in his hands.

_Stupid._

He lost track of time, finding a coffee shop where he bought something hot to drink, deciding to go back to the hotel already. He took a different alley, a small tourist station with a screen announcing places and shows to visit. When he walked by it showed the same ad of the church that the screen of the hotel run, an obnoxious “pay a visit TODAY” plastered in purple over some of the photos.

Hanzo narrowed his eyes at the screen, wandering again why they could recommend visiting a place closed to the public. He turned around the corner to see the church at the end of the street with the white van still parked at the door, the same warily feeling he had felt the previous day filling him, the dragons finally appearing with their hackles raised.

_Why announce a place that is closed? Why have not we seen people working around if it is under construction?_

_We do not know._ But he could feel the dragons suspicions match his own.

Taking his comm off the back pocket of his pants, he entered his password to unlock Athena’s files, dread increasing when, zooming one the infrared images, he saw a black square where the church should be. Like if something was blocking any external signal.

_How did they miss this_. They had probably been looking for an active sign of energy, not the lack of it.

_This has to be a trap. Who would send messages to drag our attention to that place if it is not Talon_ , he grunted, taking the earpiece out of its socket in the side of the device and calling McCree.

“Well hello, darlin’. I want my coffee black and with two sugars.”

“I think I found Talon’s hideout,” he spoke with a low voice, climbing the side of the building when he checked the alley was empty and there was no direct sight of the church from his position.

He heard the fuss of clothes being collected, McCree grunting to himself. “Damn efficient ninjas. Who the hell finds the enemy hideout while goin’ for some fuckin’ coffee.”

“We have two problems,” he continued, reaching the roof of the building and getting close to the edge to look down the street. “First, it is getting light. Second, it is most than a possibility it is a Talon trap.”

“Explain,” Jesse said, the _ding_ of the elevator sounding through the comm.

And Hanzo did, the oddity of the ads, the wariness he felt of the church, and what he had found in Athena’s files. “And that ostentatious bright color everywhere.”

“What color?”

Hanzo saw Jesse leave the hotel from his position, going to the left of the street at a calm rhythm and crossing to the other side as soon as he could. “Purple, everywhere.”

“Pur… _mierda_.”

“McCree?” Hanzo asked, tensing immediately and checking the street to look for any threat.

“Darlin’, it’s not a trap,” Jesse murmured, his breath sounding faster as if he was running.

“How do you know?”

“I’ll explain later. But I have to contact the Watchpoint. And call Lena for backup, though I ain’t sure she’ll arrive in time. We better attack as soon as possible.”  
  
Hanzo heard a beep through his earpiece, Winston voice sounding concerned a few seconds later. “Mcree? What’s going on, the orders were not to contact-”   
  
“Hanzo found Talon’s base. I need Athena scannin’ the area again and keepin’ her eyes on us, _now_.”

“We have no time for that. And what if they detect the scanning? If this person is setting a trap-”  
  
“What person?” Jack demanded. “McCree?” he repeated when he got silence for an answer.

McCree sighed. “It’s Sombra, Jack.”

“Not again,” the commander grunted, Hanzo getting nervous with the lack of orders an action.

“I can use one of my arrows to detect movement. We need to act now,” his voice dry and urgent.

“McCree, you are in charge. Lay as low as possible, Lena is on her way to assist.”  
  
“Athena, can you connect to my comm?” Hanzo asked, taking out one of his arrows and touching the small button that activated the sonic technology.

“Yes, Hanzo. Connecting now.”  
  
“McCree, I am adding you as well. Stay ready.”

Raising over the edge and keeping himself in the shadows of the edge, he tensed his bow, narrowing his eyes to select a good place to shoot his arrow. With a low _thump_ it crossed the air over the miraculous empty street and sticking against a balcony on the first floor.

It only took a couple of seconds until he could see in the screen of his comm the infrared image of the building, a few bodies colored in hot red moving inside.

“I count seven,” murmured Jesse. And I see an open window from my position, I can sneak inside and throw them a few flashbangs. You’ll have to take advantage of my distraction, Hanzo, and attack them on their rear.”

“We don’t know if there are more people inside, McCree,” Jack spoke, pausing for a second. “But probably our only chance. Strike hard and fast, don’t let them run away with the bomb.”

“Understood,” agreed Hanzo, taking the same path he had followed before to climb down the building and reach the alley below him.

“I definitely need to start trainin’ again,” Jesse huffed from his position. “Alright darlin’, are you ready?”  
  
Hanzo walked fast towards the church, checking nobody could see him before sneaking behind the fence and hiding around the van. “Yes, I am ready,” he informed, tensing his body to jump on top of the van and the balcony as soon as the cowboy attacked.

“Throwin’ flashbangs.”

Hanzo heard surprised yelling coming from the inside, jumping onto the van and holding onto the balcony in one fluid movement. He kicked the door to open it, nocking an arrow to shot when he heard McCree through the comm.

“Welcome to McCree's killbox, may I take your order?” A burst of six bullets followed it, the cowboy’s chuckle at his own joke resonating in his ears.

Hanzo shot the remaining enemy, hiding behind some boxes in case there were more.

Silence filled the place, his dragons with their hackles still raised. _Too easy._

“Huh, wasn’t that too ea-” McCree was interrupted by several doors slamming against the wall and a squad of Talon soldiers yelling and shooting, forcing him to run and roll to avoid the bullets.

“What’s going on?” Jack roared through their comms.

“Nothin’ to worry about, Jack. just avoidin’ bein’ killed. The usual.”

“Guys, someone alerted the cops, they are going to your position!” Lena warned them, sounding stressed.

“Fuckin’ Sombra,” Jesse grunted, reloading his gun and shooting at whatever he had close.

Hanzo covered him from the highs, hiding behind columns and shooting his scatter arrow whenever he could.

It took them several minutes, almost all their ammunition and all the flashbangs McCree carried with him, but they took them down.

“We still need to take care of the EMP,” grunted McCree looking up at him, missing the Talon agent that pretended to be dead and raised behind him with a gun in his hand.

Hanzo felt his blood froze in his veins. “McCree!” he yelled. Time slowed then, his heart resonating in his ears while seeing the cowboy’s eyes widen with surprise. He spun around, raising his left arm to protect himself.

_Slow. Too slow._

Hanzo felt the dragons stir, blue energy surrounding him and ready to attack. He didn’t even need to raise his bow, the command to summon them leaving his lips with a thunderous, urgent voice, seeing them fly through the room to devour the soldier.

He stood frozen in place, astonished that they had obeyed when being summoned even after having seen them back on Gibraltar several times on their own terms. They had _obeyed_ him. Last time they did--

_No_. Fear made him move. Jumping from the second floor he landed on his feet, rolling not to hurt his knees with the impact.

_No, no, not again_ , he thought running to where McCree had been, the image of his brother laying on the floor barely alive, cut and burned because of his dragons vivid in his mind.

“McCree,” he called, his voice coming close to a whimper, circling the crates. The relieve that replaced the fear and despair in his chest when he saw the cowboy sitting against it with his left hand holding his head and his eyes half-closed left him dizzy, gravity and weakened legs working together to make him kneel beside Jesse.

“What the fuck is happening?” he heard Jack through the comm, his heart no longer beating in his ears.

“Am I dead? ‘Cause you look like an angel,” Jesse said with a grin when he looked at him.

Hanzo wasn’t sure if he felt more relieved or mortified, ignoring the grunts they both heard coming from the team. “Is that all you have got? Does it ever work for you?” he asked, pulling McCree’s hand out of his face to check. He had a small cut on the side of his forehead, nothing serious but that still bleed given the type of wound. The goofy smile on the cowboy’s face put a small one on his lips as response.

“Scanning the area,” Athena said. “There Is no sign of other people in the building, you took care of all of them. Taking remote control of the cameras… I can see you now. I can’t detect any signal coming of the terminals. I recommend destroying them just in case.”

“I will take care of that,” said Hanzo, grabbing a metallic bar he found behind the crates to smash the screens.

“I see a black rectangle outside the church on the infrared scan, guys. It’s-” they heard some typing before Winston continued. “It’s a van. If it’s blocking our signal the EMP must be inside.”

“McCree,” called Jack, “I hope you remember your basic training.”

“Dontcha worry, commander. The “pull all the cables” usually works just as well,” Jesse grunted getting up and walking towards the main door.

Hanzo accompanied him with his bow ready. They approached the van, McCree forcing the lock of the back doors with his left hand, the EMP bomb secured inside.

Jesse had barely touched it, a focused frown in his face, when someone yelled behind them. Hanzo raised his bow ready to attack, putting himself behind the cowboy to protect him.

“Drop your weapons and raise your hands, slowly,” the police officer said, pointing his gun at them, a drone flying over him and recording the situation.

Behind him Hanzo saw a flick of blue light, Lena looking at him with a mix of fear and worry in her face.

“Do not come closer, it will be safer for everyone if you remain where you are,” he said looking at her, knowing the police wouldn’t take his eyes off him.

“Lena, retire to a safer position,” ordered Jack through their comm. “Jesse and Hanzo are already compromised, we will take care of it. Retrieve all the ammo packs you left on the roofs, and do _not_ let yourself seen.” Hanzo saw Lena frown, nodding before disappearing in the air avain.

“ I said-”

Hanzo sighed, wishing for a second that an arrow to the knee could be a valid solution to their situation. “I heard you, but we cannot do that. Look. See what it is in the van?”

The officer glanced behind him, his frown increasing.

“It is an EMP device. If it goes off, every electromagnetic technology within its area will deactivate.” he saw a flick of surprise and fear cross the agent’s face. “That not only includes the omnics living in the Underworld nearby. That affects every technology in the area. Phones, comms, prosthetics. If we do not deactivate it now...”

Doubt crossed the agent’s face, his eyes checking behind him to see what the cowboy was doing when he heard him grunt and curse loudly.

“Done,” murmured McCree so only Hanzo and the rest of the team could hear him. “Hey agent! Please don’t shoot me, but I’m gonna take a piece of this shit with me and turn around, if you don’t mind.”

Hanzo moved to the side when he felt McCree’s hand on his shoulder, his bow still ready, the agent changing his target to the cowboy.

“You see this?” he asked, showing him and the drone a cylinder with cables hanging from it, a pulsing red light in the center. “It’s the detonator. I disconnected it as you can see. But just to be sure it ain’t gonna work from here, I’m gonna put it on the floor, and destroy it.”

The agent narrowed his eyes at him, his sight jumping from the archer, to the cowboy, to the device on his hand. Hanzo felt McCree squeeze his shoulder when the officer nodded slowly after the drone over him had scanned the piece with a soft green light, his weapon still raised but no longer pointing at them. They could hear the sound of sirens in the distance, the noise coming closer and closer.

McCree put the detonator on the ground, careful to keep slow and calm movements, raising again to his full height. “Now, I’d shot at it to destroy it, but I guess that is not the smart choice, right? So, if you still don’t mind, I’m gonna smash it with my boot.”  
  
Hanzo rolled his eyes. “Yes, and then when you break your ankle trying to destroy the metallic cylinder we can take you to the hospital. Here, use one of my arrows and push it through the slit in the middle to reach the power core,” he said, raising an eyebrow to the agent for permission. He grabbed one, as slow as McCree had moved, when the officer nodded again.

McCree kneeled then, sticking the arrow as Hanzo had said, the pointy tip sliding in with ease. The bright red of the device flickered twice before it shut down with a spark, the cowboy sighing relieved getting up again.

“Who the hell are you?” asked then the officer, the drone behind him flying away to enter the church.

Jesse and Hanzo glanced at each other before the archer hooked the bow on his back, both raising his hands.

“Erasing files from the comms. Disconnecting the call. We will take care of the matter, agents,” they heard Athena say through their earpieces before cutting the communication.

“Well, agent, we are the ones that disarmed the EMP, of course. And the ones responsible of the bad guys dead inside the buildin’,” Jesse said.

The officer widened his eyes and raised again his weapon, tilting slightly his head to one side, like if he had an earpiece and someone was talking to him. A few police cars appeared then, the silent stop of the maglev diminishing their dramatic entrance, several agents pointing now their guns at them and ordering to kneel with their hands up.

“Next time, I’m the one goin’ out to take the coffee,” grunted McCree before kneeling on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay. I had planned it one way but my writting just came out worse than usual. The idea I had was better than what I managed to write down, so I didn't make it justice. And it's probably full of plotholes because I don't actually know how to plan an attack. Or anything UxD
> 
> It's the first time I write Lúcio, I hope I portrayed him decently! ><
> 
> Jesse and Lena sing Hot ‘n cold, from Katy Perry; and Jesse sings Poison, from Alice Cooper.
> 
> (Fun fact: Matthew Mercer, bless his heart and pure soul, can't sing to safe his life. Paul Nakauchi, Hanzo's VA, has a rich, deep voice, as opposed to the popular HC of Hanzo being unable to sing without making someone cry in pain).
> 
> And lastly, McCree's line "welcome to McCree's killbox" is not mine,  
>  is something Matthew Mercer said in this game he had with Winston's VA, minute 5:10 :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheers loves! The cavalry has arrived!
> 
> Or, Lena take the boys back to the base.

Jesse rearranged his butt in his uncomfortable seat again, looking around the empty interrogation room and finding, again, nothing to distract himself with.

They had arrived at the police station an hour ago —or maybe three?— and put in there after being registered and having their possessions confiscated, a biotic emitter settled on the table to heal their wounds after a doctor had checked on them. At least they were still together, the agents deciding to put them with the other prisoners down in the cells would have been too risky after what they had done to the Talon agents.

His stomach rumbled, the small sandwich and the bottle of water the officers gave them when they imprisoned them not enough to satisfy him. Skipping breakfast sucked, he thought.

Jesse glanced to his right, finding Hanzo at the other side of the table in the same position he had been for a while, his back straight against the chair he had moved to face the door, his eyes half closed with his sight lost looking at nothing, his breath calm and paused.

_ Fuck _ , even with the horrible light of the room he appeared composed, his regal profile attractive in his stillness. He couldn’t help losing himself in his shameless ogling, thinking again of the way he had woken up with his arms surrounding a warm, thick body, his chest pressed against his back, and his cock rubbing against a delicious, well-defined ass. How he had to extricate himself careful not to wake Hanzo up, doing a silent walk of shame towards the bathroom, where he would have loved Hanzo’s long fingers around his cock being the ones that made him come under the shower and not his own, a quick, shameful rub to hide his morning reaction.

_ Stop it _ , he chastised himself mentally. He rather not follow that trail of thought, or he would think again about the disappointment he had felt when, leaving the bathroom, he found the bed empty.

Jesse’s stomach growled again.

“I still have my sandwich, if you are hungry.”

Jesse did  _ not _ flinch when Hanzo spoke out of nothing.

“Ah, dontcha worry darlin’. I’m pretty sure the officers here,” he said pointing at the camera on the wall, “know that accordin’ to the UN’s International Treatment they have to provide the people under arrest with food, water, and a lawyer.” he looked at the archer in front of him, his eyes still unfocused even though he knew Hanzo was aware of his surroundings, capable of disarming and pining on the floor whoever trespassed the door if needed.

An idea popped into his mind. He had something to distract himself with after all, and he never thought twice about pushing his luck. ”So, while the agents verify our ID’s and decide our lunch menu, let me ask you somethin’.”

Hanzo hummed noncommittally, which he interpreted as permission to continue. He grinned wickedly.

“I guess my new, lucky shirt,” he said pointing at the pajama shirt he hadn’t had time to change before leaving the hotel in a hurry, “failed me. You left the bed this mornin’ without even sayin’ a goodbye, sweetheart.”

He smiled innocently when Hanzo sputtered getting out of his meditating mood, both hearing a snort on the other side of the door. Jesse felt stupidly proud when Hanzo narrowed his eyes at him, seeing a flick of understatement shine in his chocolate eyes.

“I did not leave. I abandoned temporarily the room to grab breakfast,” he replied in a lower tone.

“We had free service room.”

A shiver run down his back when Hanzo pulled a slow smirk with the corner of his mouth. That damn smile always meant problems.

“Maybe I needed to leave.” Hanzo paused for a second, continuing when Jesse raised an inquisitive brow. “Had you considered that had not I left,  _ you _ could have been the one that enjoyed a ride?”

Jesse felt all his blood rushing to his groin with the image the archer put in his mind.  _ Shit _ .

He cleared his suddenly dry throat when Hanzo chuckled, his tone sinfully deep and his eyes glinting.

Jesse knew then that Hanzo knew what he was doing to him.  _ Asshole _ . He threw his almost empty bottle at his face, huffing when the archer grabbed it in the air.

A reddened agent opened the door, grabbing their attention. “Uhm, you are done here. Someone is coming to get you out.”

Glancing at each other for a second, they got up to follow him through the corridor until they reached a desk where they saw Lena was waiting for them with their weapons and the bags they had left in the hotel.

“Cheers loves! I am in charge of your transportation!” she winked, signing up something on a tablet.

Jesse opened his mouth to ask when a familiar voice on the screen behind the desk got their attention.

"They saved lives! Not only humans but omnics too, and you arrest them? What’s wrong with you?”

They saw Lúcio wave his hands angrily at the reporter at his side.

“We have found one of the suspects is an ex-agent of Overwa--”

“And? You should be grateful he was there! Talon avoided the scans and patrols the police ran to prepare for the concert. Imagine the disgrace that could have happened! Perhaps you should draw your attention to the attack these two brave men averted, lady.”

Hanzo snorted beside Jesse at the affronted interviewer.

“We also found out the other one was your ex-bodyguard. An ex-yakuza that murdered his own brother.”

Lúcio stared unperturbed at the woman interviewing him. “Do you believe everything you read on a quick search on the internet? ‘Cause then, according to Vishkar, I am a terrorist and a thief. And I see nobody coming after me to arrest me, ma’am. My friend might be too traditional and formal for his own good, sometimes I even wonder if he has a stick up his ass but,” Lucio shrugged while crossing his arms, Jesse snorting behind Hanzo when he heard him grunt at the DJ’s declarations. “And dead brother? That cutie is very alive and breathing, lady. So, maybe check your sources before sharing them in live connection.”

They saw the periodist gap indignantly on screen before Jesse stuck his elbow in Hanzo’s ribs, chuckling. “Genji is goin’ to kill ya, darlin’.”

The archer just huffed, grabbing his bags from where Lena had placed on the floor, seeing her saluting the officers after finishing with the paperwork.

They followed her outside the building towards the car she had left stationed close to the door to leave as soon as possible and avoid the reporters in case they had found where they were kept.

“Wait, what time is it?” asked McCree frowning up at the sky.

“Past tea o’clock actually!” Lena said, opening the trunk and helping them drop the bags inside.

“Really? Damn, time got sucked up inside that room,” muttered Jesse, sitting behind Hanzo in the backseat. “So, are you gonna explain what happened or are we goin’ to have to guess?” he asked when she turned on the car and left the place.

“Oh, no problem, love, for taking you out of jail. It was a pleasure to run over the bloody roofs to recover all the ammo, and going back to the hotel to get your stuff,” grunted Lena.

“Ok. Thanks, sweetheart. But what happened?”

Hanzo snorted at the murderous glare Lena threw Jesse through the rearview mirror.

“The UN contacted Winston to ask what the hell were we doing here, so he obviously played dumb! We were just friends hanging out, and managed to found a frigging bomb just outside the door. What a coincidence uh? Your friend Lúcio had helped a lot, you saw him speaking and defending you on TV,” she said glancing at Hanzo. “Apparently that had made people look at us with a better eye, the clients from yesterday’s pub sharing online the pics and videos they took of us, and that forced the UN to release you, letting go under vigilance of course, until they decide what to do. They are not stupid obviously,” she shrugged, driving through the highway leading towards the airport. “They suspect we weren't here just by coincidence, but they found no evidence of it being planned. So, we will have to behave back on the base until then. Winston and Athena are already working on the allegations to let us work again.”

Jesse nodded slowly, considering the information. The mission had not been as smooth and stealthy as he had preferred but it was still good. Narrowing his eyes he turned slowly to look at Hanzo sitting at his side, seeing him raise an eyebrow.

“You felt yesterday  _ something _ while we passed close to the church. And as we saw, it was the church where Talon was hiddin’. Spill it, darlin’, how did ya know?”

Hanzo had the nerve of rolling his eyes at him. “I do not know. I think,” he stopped, frowning while organizing his thoughts. “I think the dragons felt something, and they passed the feeling to me. I have spent a long time without them, and our relationship was not this close before… before. We are still learning to work together again.”

Jesse smiled slowly. “Well, if they start feelin’ and seein’ things now, lemme know if they find out the lottery numbers, would ya?”

“Or if they figure out where Talon is hiding!” chirped Lena.

His smile got bigger when Hanzo snorted, nodding mockingly. “Of course.”

“There’s something else, loves,” said Lena, looking at them through the mirror. “When I said you were free to go under vigilance, it was not only for the airport.”

Jesse raised an eyebrow at her when he noticed she had her eyes stuck on him, a slight frown between her eyebrows.

“Jesse, remember that bounty that got cleared when the authorities found no evidence of you being responsible for the train?”

He nodded, despair churning his guts knowing where it was going already.

“Well, it’s back. Your old gang lost no time when the news spread about you being here, sweetie. I’m sorry,” she murmured.

Jesse felt Hanzo’s eyes glued on him, but he avoided him pulling his comm out of his bag. It had been too good to be true to be a free man, almost two months and he got again a bulls-eye on his back. “Oh, hey, at least it’s only limited to three states,” he joked when he found the bounty announcement. “I’m only worth 60 million?” he protested mockingly.

“They do not know better, obviously.”

Jesse raised his eyes to find Hanzo checking him up and down, his eyes slightly narrowed with a pensive face.

“With the advice you portray in your shirt I would have doubled the amount,” stated the archer with a smirk on his face, making Lena bark a laugh in the front seat.

Jesse ignored the flush raising up his cheeks, drawing a flirty smile himself. “Why now, are you oferin’ to pay for me, darlin’?”

He couldn’t help widening his eyes when Hanzo approached him, stopping close enough for him to sniff him. “Hn,” he returned to his position with a grim face. “I prefer my men clean, sorry.”

Lena laughed harder.

“You wound me, Han. I thought we had somethin’ special.”

“Keep dreaming, gunslinger.”

“Sorry to interrupt your mating dance, boys,” butted Lena, sounding not sorry at all. “Hanzo, we hear nothing about you, love. Athena is still checking if someone is after you, especially your old clan.”

“You should not bother about them. Between my brother and I, there is nothing left of them to worry about. I appreciate your concern anyways,” he said with a nod in her direction.

“Well, if you have been working these past years as a mercenary maybe there is someone waiting to take revenge. We will be careful,” she frowned, driving towards a restrained area within the airport.

“They can come if they want, I am not afraid,” reassured Hanzo.

Jesse winked when the archer glanced at him. “They won’t know what hit them, partner.”

They remained silent while Lena drove the car through the checkpoint, showing them her pass and the comm with the orders to escort them to the shuttle, leaving towards a small, private landing pad where her shuttle was waiting.

Grabbing their gear, they left the car, Jesse feeling the sudden weight of his tiredness over his shoulders walking towards the shuttle. Glancing at Hanzo and his slightly slumped shoulders he saw he was not the only one wishing to sit and rest.

“I can’t wait to go back to my bed,” he grumbled, dropping his duffle bag under his seat and letting his weight down onto it, watching Lena go towards the cockpit and Hanzo taking the seat in front of him across the small table that occupied the opposite side of the hatch. 

“That will have to wait a bit longer, love! You still have to debrief to Winston, the Commander, and Captain Amari,” chirped Lena, getting ready the systems.

He let his head rest on his forearms, placed over the table. “Fuck.”  
  
  


* * *

 

Hanzo let his head fall down, the warm water soaking his hair and running down his back. To say that he felt exhausted was an understatement. The little rest he got with the couple of hours he managed to sleep before Jesse woke him up had evaporated after the fight. Pretending to be concentrated and meditating in the interrogation room when he had actually been asleep with his eyes open was a secret he was determined to keep for himself. And the dragons, he thought to himself when they chuckled in his head at his expense.

The flight back to the base had been fast, Lena piloting her shuttle with precision through the Spanish airspace and avoiding the radars thanks to the stealth system. He had almost fallen asleep again in his seat, but he was stubborn. Feeling Jesse staring at him from his seat in front of him helped, an unworded staring contest keeping them distracted, smirking proudly when Jesse burst a laugh when he went from frowning at him to crossing his eyes to discompose him.

The sun was low and dyeing the sky with its orange tones when they arrived at the base, the rest of the team waiting for them in the landing area. Genji had even grabbed him and spun him around, chuckling, before he smacked his brother to get free. 

The debrief had been fast, since Lena had already told them what they did the previous night and they had been watching them through the hacked cameras of the area. Hanzo frowned and rolled his shoulders under the warm stream when he thought about how Jesse had messed up their opportunity to leave the office when he had brought up they had had to share the room. 

Hanzo had wanted to kill the cowboy. Genji knew perfectly his sleep patterns, and by the way he had looked at him with a raised eyebrow he knew he would ask him in the future about it. A nasty feeling pooled in his stomach, making him squeeze hard his eyes to suppress it. 

Luckily for him the meeting had finished soon after that, and he had avoided his brother long enough to grab a plate with what he found in the kitchen ready for dinner and walk to his room. He would walk that bridge when it comes.

He finished his shower, drying his body and hair hastily before putting on the pajama and falling unceremoniously onto the bed, ignoring what the dragons were rumbling in his head. For now he would content himself with sleep. He would worry about his brother and whatever feeling and need Jesse had raised in him having him plastered against his back in the morning.

 

* * *

  
A week later they had heard no news from the UN. Torbjorn had left to check and prepare the new base with one of the shuttles loaded with equipment and a small portable server connected to Athena, informing Winston periodically. Hanzo soon learned the yells and high voices coming from the office area were not bad news, just the engineer being enthusiast about the security measures he had encountered and disconnected to implement his own.

He had avoided his brother’s curiosity giving him Lúcio’s signed photo to distract him, something that had worked wonderfully since Genji never tried to bring the matter up again.

That had meant a whole week, seven days, being locked in the base with the cowboy while the rest of the team had been able to leave to run some errands in the closest city. Whenever Hanzo went, McCree was there. They had trained together, eaten together, walked around the base, and got drunk at night together.

Hanzo knew Jesse would never feel the same way about him. He sometimes found himself thinking how amazing it was he was willing to be friend with him, which was why he was determined to be content with what they already had. He would never try to push for more in case he lost Jesse’s friendship, convinced that that was enough, that he deserved the longing he felt, ignoring the increased angry protests of the dragons. 

So he just hoarded what he could, their banter, the flirty moments, the honeyed-words Jesse used with everyone but Hanzo liked to consider only his, selfishly wanting but never enough to deserve more. 

 

After a harder training day he had inflicted upon himself to try to push down and erase those thoughts, he had hit the bed satisfied, his body tired and hurting but his mind finally silent, falling asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

Hanzo wasn’t sure what woke him up, sitting on his bed and feeling dizzy, like his head had been stuffed with cotton. He tried to remember what he had dreamed about, the ghostly feeling of rough hands on his hips and a broad, warm chest pressed against his. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face with a sigh, a fruitless movement to try to erase the memory of tender amber eyes pinned on him, the smooth deep voice that resonated in his ear, the sun-kissed skin spattered with freckles that he wanted to kiss.

It had been his deep, rich chuckle, sending a chill up Hanzo’s spine, what had woken him up.

Shaking his head frustrated with himself and his stupid, unrequited crush, he tried to banish the dangerous thoughts that threatened to drown him and realizing, to his surprise, that his mind hadn’t been the only one fantasizing about a certain man.

He froze, looking at his tented pants, something that hadn’t happened in a while, embarrassment and surprise heating his cheeks. Only then he noticed the dragons had left him alone with his problem,  _ how considerate of them _ .

Hanzo tried to think about nothing, frowning at the outline of his hard cock defying his command to just go down, challenging him to do something. He fell back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, defeated, hissing when the movement dragged the pants over the sensitive head.

_ It is something normal _ , he rationalized. He had been thinking a lot lately about the cowboy even when he didn’t want to. And he had been living in a secured place for over a month now, his body and his mind getting used to feeling safe and not always ready to face a danger. He had allowed himself to relax and enjoy the company, it was a natural reaction, he thought with a heavy breath. There would be no harm in indulging in some personal, stress relief, right?

Closing his eyes, he slowly dragged one of his hands down his naked chest, slipping it under his pants and wrapping his calloused fingers around his hard shaft, biting his lips when he lazily stroked himself a few times, shivering with the dry friction.

Feeling it was not enough, he pushed down his pants, the fresh air of the room contrasting deliciously with his heated skin. Running his thumb over the slit he spread the precome down his shaft, easing the ministrations while he played with his balls with the other hand.

His mind wandered on its own, bringing up sensations and images from his memory and his imagination. In the safe darkness behind his eyelids he thought again about his dream, a rich voice in his ear, the heavy weight of a sun-kissed arm around his waist, the big warm body plastered against his back when they shared the bed in London, the hard thickness grinding against his ass.

He flinched when a wave of pleasure run up his spine, his hand stroking faster up and down his cock, a whimper forming behind his hard-pressed lips. He felt the heat pooling in his groin, imagining what he could feel having the cowboy naked against him, thrusting inside him while a stream of his flirty, sweet words poured in his ear, teasing and praising in his deep, husky voice.

Hanzo felt his balls tightening, whispering the cowboy’s name right before he came, his body taut while strips of come painted his stomach, the orgasm washing over him and drowning him in a blissful state, his heartbeat loud in his ears almost deafening.

He opened his eyes his softening cock still in his hand, dread clenching his stomach when he realized what he had done. Disgusted with himself and his low self-restraint, he looked up at the ceiling, feeling empty and lost, his heart beating hard in his chest for a whole different reason now.

_ Filthy _ . That’s how he felt now, the post-orgasm bliss forgotten, feeling the come cooling in his stomach and his hand.  _ How could he?.  _ Nauseated, he got up the bed, letting his pants fall and going to the bathroom to clean himself.

He could feel the dragons were back, observing him but remaining silent while he dressed up with his gym clothes. His mind was empty of any thought, but his body was tense again, his stomach knotted with disgust and self-loath.

Grabbing his gear and his comm, he left his room to go to the training area. He had learned in the past that when he felt that way nothing could make him sleep again unless he beat himself in an extenuating hard-training session. And after what he had done he felt he deserved the pain and tiredness as punishment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm considering creating a "angsty smut" tag, I can't help it ;_;
> 
> It has taken me too long, but I have been blocked for two months, unable to continue this story even when I wanted to. I have forced myself to do so, so if the writting is even worse than usual I am sorry, but this is the best I managed to come up with. I'll probably read it in the future and come with better ideas to develop the story, but this is what I have now. At least I took them back to the base, so, yey?


End file.
